Jakarta. Indonesia's trade deficit with China in May 2024 nearly tripled to $1.3 billion, marking a significant increase from the $500 million deficit recorded in April, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

"The deepest deficit with China was driven by imports of machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and equipment, and plastics and plastic products,"  BPS Deputy for Production Statistics, M. Habibullah, said during a press conference at the BPS Office on Wednesday.

The BPS reported a trade surplus of $2.93 billion for Indonesia in May. This represents a slight increase of $210 million from April and a significant rise of $2.5 billion compared to the same period last year.

"Indonesia's trade balance has recorded a surplus for 49 consecutive months since May 2020," stated

The largest contributor to the surplus was India, with $1.55 billion, followed by the United States with $1.2 billion, and Japan with $742.2 million. The significant surplus with India was driven by exports of mineral fuels, precious metals and jewelry, and metal ores, slag, and ash.

Conversely, the top three countries contributing to Indonesia's trade deficit were China at $1.3 billion, Australia at $539.3 million, and Thailand at $320.2 million. 

The overall surplus in May was supported by a non-oil and gas (non-migas) surplus of $4.26 billion, driven by mineral fuels, animal/vegetable fats and oils, and iron and steel commodities. Although the non-migas trade surplus in May 2024 was lower than the previous month, it was higher compared to May 2023. Simultaneously, the oil and gas trade balance recorded a deficit of $1.33 billion in May 2024, which was lower than the deficits in April 2024 and May 2023.

Cumulatively, by May 2024, Indonesia's trade surplus reached $13.06 billion, a decrease of $3.41 billion compared to the same period last year. "The cumulative non-oil and gas trade deficit with China up to May 2024 was $4.37 billion," noted Habibullah.

On a detailed cumulative basis, the non-oil and gas trade surplus was $21.3 billion, while the oil and gas trade deficit was $8.07 billion. Both the cumulative trade surplus and the non-oil and gas trade balance experienced declines up to May 2024, amounting to $230 million and $3.19 billion, respectively, compared to the same period in 2023.

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