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Trade war badly affects Indonesia’s exports: Economic chief
Coordinating Economic Minister Darmin Nasution has stressed that the trade war between China and the United States has badly affected and will continue to affect Indonesia’s exports as both countries will import less from Indonesia as they experience economic slowdowns.
“China is our largest export destination, while the US is number two. Both countries are facing economic slowdowns because of the trade war,” said Darmin in Jakarta on Monday as quoted by kompas.com.
As such, the minister said he would not dare make any estimates about Indonesia’s exports although he maintained that the country’s economy could grow by 5.3 percent this year.
“This will have impacts on our exports, but the severity of the impact on our economic growth will also depend on our imports,” he added
In 2018, Indonesia’s exports were valued at US$180 billion, up 6.65 percent from 2017. The largest export segment was commodities, which accounted for $162.6 billion.
Indonesia’s trade deficit reached $8.57 billion, last year. However, Darmin insisted the country’s economy was in a healthy state.
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia’s imports in 2018 were recorded at $188.6 billion, up 20.15 percent from $156.9 billion in 2017. (bbn)
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/03/12/trade-war-badly-affects-indonesias-exports-economic-chief.html