TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Statistics Indonesia (BPS) acknowledged that China's economic slowdown potentially affected the country’s trade. BPS Acting Head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti said that however, demand for Indonesian exports to China was still growing.

“We see that Indonesia's exports to China are still quite solid. There are indeed potential impacts, but demand is still growing positively,” Amalia said in a virtual press conference via YouTube on Friday, September 15, 2023.

She assessed that demand from the Chinese market would keep existing as the economy is not contracting. She believed that China as the main country for Indonesia's exports would grow. This can be seen from Indonesia's export value to China in August 2023.

The non-oil and gas export value in August 2023 rose by 9.36 percent compared to July 2023. Meanwhile, the imports declined in August 2023.

She noted that the increase in export share on a monthly and annual basis occurred only in China. In August this year, Indonesia's share of non-oil and gas exports was 25.99 percent or US$5.38 billion, up from 23.44 percent. Cumulatively from January to August 2023, the share also increased from 21.26 percent to 24.96 percent.

Mineral fuels, iron, and steel dominated Indonesia's non-oil and gas exports to China. In the last two years, Amalia said nickel and its derivative products were among the top five non-oil and gas export commodities from Indonesia to China.

RIANI SANUSI PUTRI

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