JAKARTA Indonesia's windfall export earnings from high commodity prices may start to dwindle, its statistics bureau warned on Monday, despite the country booking a larger than expected surplus in July.
The resource-rich nation booked a $4.2 billion surplus last month as it enjoyed the impact of high commodity prices worldwide, although prices of some of its main products like palm oil, nickel, and natural gas have declined.
July's trade surplus is compared to Reuters's trade surplus of $3.93 billion and June's surplus of $5.09 billion.
Southeast Asia's largest economy, riding on the export boom since last year, has had a trade surplus every month since May 2020. It was boosted by the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic.
Statistics Indonesia has warned that the nation's export gains have been largely a result of rising prices, but export volume has remained relatively stagnant.
The rise in commodity prices was a factor in the growth of exports in January-July of 2022, said Setianto, deputy head of the bureau.
He said that this may be something that we need to pay attention to in the coming months because of the stagnant export volumes of our main commodities.
On a yearly basis, the July exports were up 32.03 per cent to $25.57 billion, compared to the 29.73 per cent growth forecast by the poll.
On a monthly basis, steel, tin and nickel shipments fell.
The imports rose 39.86 per cent to $21.35 billion, compared with an increase of 37.3 per cent expected in the poll.
Statistics Indonesia warned of the impact of rising tensions in the Taiwan Strait on trade, as China is Indonesia's biggest trade partner.