Indonesia’s monthly exports surpassed USD 14 billion in October, the highest in the country’s history, mainly thanks to soaring commodity prices that pushed up foreign exchange revenues from non-oil and gas exports

Mr Rusman Heriawan chairman of Central Statistics Agency said that monthly exports reached USD 14.22 billion, a 16.14% increase compared to the same month last year. From January to October, exports value reached a total of USD 125.13 billion, 35.45% higher compared to the same period last year.

Mr Rusman said that “So this is a record-high for monthly exports. The previous record was December last year at USD 13.3 billion and in August of this year at USD 13.7 billion.”

He said that based on monthly trends, the country’s annual exports this year were projected to score an all-time high of about USD 150 billion. In the 10 month period, non-oil and gas exports reached USD 103.4 billion, with the biggest contribution from coal and crude palm oil at USD 14.84 billion and USD 12.14 billion respectively.

The government and the central bank have expressed concern that a stronger rupiah may hurt exports, which could hamper the country’s economic growth. The rupiah has appreciated by about 5% so far this year on the back of heavy foreign fund inflows.

Analysts said that however, higher commodity prices had helped exporters weather the appreciation of the currency. CPO prices stood at USD 1,120 per ton for December 2010 delivery, more than 40% higher than January’s delivery price of USD 765 per tonne.

(Sourced from The Jakarta Post)