TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded exports in December 2019 reached US$14.47 billion, a 3.77 percent increase compared to that in November 2019.

From January to December 2019, Indonesia's total exports were recorded at US$167.53 billion, a 6.94 percent decrease compared to the same period in 2018, where exports reached a value of US$180.01 billion.

Furthermore, non-oil and gas exports from January to December last year also decreased by 4.82 percent at US$154.99 billion, even though the non-oil and gas exports reached US$162.84 billion, in the same time period last year.

BPS chief Suhariyanto said that the fluctuating crude oil prices must be anticipated, noting that Indonesian crude oil prices was at US$63.26 per barrel in November 2019 and rose to US$67 per barrel in the coming month.

“If there is an increase in the price of oil due to geopolitical conditions, it must be anticipated,” said Suhariyanto in a press conference, on Wednesday, January 15, 2020. However, the prices of a number of commodities, such as nickel, zinc, chocolate, and coal, surprisingly went down.

Suhariyanto went on to explain that the export increase in December 2019 can be attributed to a 12.09 percent increase in oil and gas exports as well as a 3.1 percent increase in non-oil and gas exports. From a year-to-year (YoY) perspective, Indonesian exports experienced a 1.28 percent increase from December 2018 to December 2019.

He clarified that although the value of oil and gas exports from December 2018 to December 2019 actually fell as much as 31.93 percent (YoY), the export volume, on the other hand, rose by 5.78 percent (YoY). “In 2017 and 2018, November saw a decrease, but in December 2019, the exports surprisingly increased; a different pattern,” he said.

Previously, exports in November 2019 was recorded at US$14.01 billion, a 6.17 percent decrease compared to the previous month. This is due to non-oil and gas exports falling for as much as 7.92 percent from US$14.01 billion in October 2019 to US$12.90 billion in November 2019, for these commodities: ore, crust, and metals.

On the other hand, oil and gas exports up by 20.66 percent from US$0.92 billion in October 2019 to US$1.11 billion in November 2019. However, November 2019 exports down by 5.67 percent compared to the same period in 2018 at $14.85 billion.

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