JakartaPost-Mar 15, 2022
The Ukraine and Russia crisis is expected to have a positive impact on Indonesia’s trade, with most of the country’s exports benefiting from surging commodity prices. Indonesia’s top exports include crude palm oil (CPO), coal and metals like aluminum, copper and nickel, all of which have seen price surges in the weeks following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, Indonesia is a big importer of crude oil and certain food commodities, such as wheat and soybeans. The two Eastern European countries are also big on some of these commodities. “This is the consequence of becoming a net exporter of commodities. Despite the hike in oil prices, we are still gaining amid the ongoing crisis in Eastern Europe,” said David Sumual, chief economist at Bank Central Asia (BCA), Indonesia’s largest private lender, on March 11. Yusuf Rendy Manilet, a researcher at the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE), said that if the surging global inflation finally led to a hike in benchmark rates, Indonesia would be more prepared than before. He said Indonesia had greater foreign reserves now than when the United States Federal Reserve underwent a taper tantrum in 2013, especially with Indonesia enjoying a trade surplus in the last several months. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2022/03/14/ukraine-war-may-bring-windfall-to-indonesias-trade-balance.html.
