MACROECONOMICS - TANGERANG. President Joko Widodo said the surplus in September 2018 was a bright spot for the national economy.
According to Jokowi, the Indonesian economy faces minus current account deficit (CAD) problems from year to year. Moreover, in 2017 CAD was recorded at US$ 17.3 billion.
"The figure is large. We must improve the trade balance by increasing exports. At present, the level of imports is higher than exports. So we always record deficits, "he said when opening the Indonesia Trade Expo 2018 at ICE BSD, Wednesday (10/24).
On the other hand, the President appreciated the hard work of all parties who keep trying to enter the export market, especially to non-traditional countries.
As a result, CAD managed to record a surplus of US $ 227 million last month. "Alhamdulillah, our trade balance has managed to be a surplus. There has been a bright spot even though its value is still small. Hopefully, the trade balance surplus can continue until the following months," he said.
In addition, since the beginning of the year to September 2018, the level of exports has increased by 9.2% to US$ 122 billion from last year in the same period. "This means that the more the exports must be, the better," said the President.
According to Jokowi, this is related to the role of the government that actively encourages exports by providing incentives. For this reason, the government will continue to provide new incentives to encourage the industry to enter the export market. (Translator: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie)
