Imports in September down 8.78 percent

The value of imports in September, which amounted to US$11.30 billion, has dropped by 8.78 percent compared with the previous month, which was US$12.38 billion, the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) has said.

“Indonesias imports in September 2016 amount to US$11.30 billion, down 8.78 percent from August, or down 2.26 percent if compared to September 2015,” BPS chief Suhariyanto said at a press conference in Jakarta on Monday.

Suhariyanto said non-oil-gas imports in September were valued at US$9.55 billion, down 9.77 percent compared to the previous month. Compared to September 2015, these imports dropped by 0.95 percent.

Oil and gas imports in September stood at US$ US$1.74 billion, down 2.97 percent compared to the previous month, and down 8.88 percent compared to last September.

In September, cereal commodities such as wheat touched the highest value in import items at US$39.0 million, or 19.17 percent, while the steepest drop was in the machinery and mechanical equipment category, whose value was US$98.9 million or 5.17 percent.

The cumulative value of imports from January to September crossed US$98.69 billion, down 8.61 percent compared to the same period last year. The cumulative value of oil and gas imports was US$13.74 billion, down 29.19 percent; non-oil imports were valued at US$84.95 billion, down 4.10 percent.

The top three countries for non-oil imports in the January-September period were China with a value of US$21.99 billion, or 25.88 percent; Japan with US$9.48 billion, or 11.16 percent; and Thailand with US$6.64 billion or 7.81 percent. “Non-oil imports from ASEAN countries touched 21.82 percent, while from the European Union it was 9.17 percent,” Suhariyanto said.

The import values of auxiliary raw materials from January to September decreased by 9.8 percent and capital goods by 12.66 percent. However, imported consumer goods shot up by 12.80 percent.