Indonesia’s Trade Slumps as Virus Takes Heavy Toll on Economy

(Bloomberg) --

Indonesia’s exports slumped in April and imports plunged for a 10th straight month, underscoring worries about the overall health of Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.

Exports fell 7% from a year ago versus a median estimate for a shortfall of 4% in a Bloomberg survey of economists, the statistics office said Friday. Imports declined 18.6%, resulting in a trade deficit of $345 million compared to the $200 million deficit forecast in the survey.

Key Insights

• The plunge in imports was worse than the median estimate for a 15.79% decline, and reflects the disruption to supply chains as well as flagging consumer demand in the economy since last year. Imports of consumer goods fell 16.6%, while incoming shipments of raw materials dropped 19.1%
• The fall in exports was driven by plummeting shipments of oil and gas, down 17.7% compared to a year earlier, and mining and other products, which fell 29.5%. Manufacturing exports fell 1.8%
• Indonesia is battling a crisis on two fronts with deaths from Covid-19 continuing to surge, topping more than 1,000 this week, and the economy grinding to a halt. The government has slashed its forecast for growth for this year to 2.3% from 5.3%, but has also warned it could contract 0.4% in a worst-case scenario

Read: Indonesia’s Economy Hit by Virus Domino Effect, Indrawati Says

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• To see a breakdown of the trade data, click here

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