Indonesian imports increase by 56.4 percent in September

Indonesian imports increase by 56.4 percent in September

2011-11-02 22:52:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

JAKARTA, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) -- Indonesian imports increased by 56.4 percent in September when compared to the same period last year, reaching a total value of $15.1 billion, officials said on Wednesday.

The numbers were released by the Indonesian Trade Ministry's Foreign Trade chief Deddy Saleh who explained that non-oil/non-gas imports reached $11.7 billion while oil and gas imports totaled $3.4 billion, the Antara news agency reported.

In addition, in the period January - September, cumulative imports reached $130 billion compared to last year's numbers, while annual import movements were also up by 33.6 percent. Specifically, $99.7 billion came from imports consisting of non-oil/non-gas as oil and gas imports totaled $30.3 billion.

Saleh said economic shifts in the country led to increased imports from India and Thailand in the non-oil/non-gas sector. During this period, imports from Thailand were up by 7.9 percent, which was higher than import numbers from Singapore and the United States Imports from India, meanwhile, increased from 2.4 percent to 3.0 percent.

Also, as Japan continues to recover from its setback following March's earthquake and tsunami disaster, which triggered its ongoing nuclear crisis, its share in the Indonesian import markets have dropped from 15.6 percent to 13.8 percent. China has been the main import source with its share reaching 18.6 percent, Saleh said.

Imports in the January - September period was mostly dominated by raw/supporting materials that rose by 37.1 percent although it was still below that of the same period last year. Consumer goods and capital goods, meanwhile, rose by 38.5 percent and 18.4 percent respectively.

In late September, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono called for readiness among citizens, warning that the current global crisis could strike the country's economy harshly. According to Association of Indonesian Employers Sofjan Wanandi, Indonesia's declining export market is already having an impact on the business community.

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