Indonesia's Top Imports & Exports 2008
Popular Indonesian Imports Include Soybeans, Raw Cotton and Wheat
Sep 30, 2009
Generating a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at US$511.8 billion, Indonesia was the world’s 19th richest country in 2008.
With a population of 240.3 million Indonesians who enjoyed an average GDP of $3,900 per person last year, Indonesia finished 154th among other nations in terms of GDP per capita.
As the world’s 32nd biggest exporter, Indonesia shipped $139.3 billion worth of exports in 2008. Principal Indonesian exports were oil and gas, electrical appliances, plywood, textiles and rubber. Based on 2008 statistics, Indonesia’s largest export clients were Japan (20.2%), the United States (9.5%), Singapore (9.4%), China (8.5%), South Korea (6.7%), India (5.2%) and Malaysia (4.7%).
According to the CIA World Factbook, Indonesia imported $116 billion worth of foreign goods last year. Major commodities imported into Indonesia include machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels and foodstuffs. Leading suppliers to Indonesia were Singapore (16.9%), China (11.8%), Japan (11.7%), Malaysia (6.9%), the United States (6.1%), South Korea (5.4%) and Thailand (4.9%).
In total, Indonesia’s international trade amounted to $255.3 billion or 49.9% of its overall GDP. This compares with roughly 25% for the U.S. and 60% for Canada.
Indonesian Trade with the U.S.
Last year, Indonesian exports to America rose 10.5% to $15.8 billion. Over that same period, Indonesia bought $5.6 billion worth of U.S. imports – an increase of 42.2%.
Therefore, Indonesia’s trade surplus with the U.S. came to $10.2 billion in 2008.
The lists below present the top 10 exports and imports that American and Indonesian enterprises exchanged in 2008. The fastest-growing trade product categories are also shown.
Indonesia’s Top Exports to America
Among the top 10 Indonesian exports shipped to the U.S. in 2008, 4 of these product categories exceed $1 billion. Seven product categories had positive percentage gains ranging from 0.9% to 56.6%. The 3 Indonesian export categories with decreased U.S. sales last year experienced minor single-digit declines.
- Cotton apparel and household goods … US$2.4 billion, up 3.3% from 2007 (15.3% of US imports from Indonesia)
- Natural rubber and similar gums … $1.7 billion, up 32.1% (10.9%)
- Other textiles apparel and household goods … $1.4 billion, down 3.9% (8.8%)
- Fish and shellfish … $1.1 billion, up 24.5% (6.9%)
- Household items including furniture and baskets … $587.7 million, down 8.1% (3.72%)
- Crude oil … $579.1 million, up 56.6% (3.67%)
- Sporting and camping apparel, footwear and gear … $471.7 million, up 0.9% (3%)
- Computer accessories … $462.2 million, up 23.1% (2.9%)
- Industrial organic chemicals … $425.3 million, up 73.9% (2.7%)
- Video equipment including television receivers and VCRs … $346.3 million, down 2.3% (2.2%).
Fastest-Growing Indonesian Exports to the U.S.
The 10 fastest-growing Indonesian exports generated relatively small overall sales and represent a wide range of business products.
- Machine tools … US$7.3 million, up 808.3% from 2007
- Iron and steel products … $24.2 million, up 359.6%
- Measuring, testing and control instruments … $35.4 million, up 307.6%
- Non-steel finished metal shapes … $119.8 million, up 231.3%
- Food oils and oilseeds … $243 million, up 137.1%
- DVDs, CDs, disks and tapes … $29.7 million, up 112.8%
- Other petroleum products … $80.9 million, up 108.5%
- Book, magazines and other printed products … $9.2 million, up 96.6%
- Civilian aircraft parts … $19.9 million, up 89.9%
- Household and kitchen appliances … $25.7 million, up 87.7%.
Indonesia’s Top Imports from America
Food products are directly or indirectly related to 4 of the top 10 export product categories for US shipments to Indonesia. This should not be surprising given Indonesia’s huge population.
- Soybeans … US$626 million, up 46.2% from 2007 (11.1% of US exports to Indonesia)
- Civilian aircraft … $534.1 million, up 44% (9.5%)
- Raw cotton … $454.6 million, up 33.4% (8.1%)
- Wheat … $364 million, up 53.8% (6.4%)
- Other chemicals … $244 million, up 57.9% (4.3%)
- Dairy products and eggs … $200.1 million, up 63.3% (3.6%)
- Steelmaking materials … $178.7 million, up 124.4% (3.2%)
- Organic chemicals … $148.5 million, up 74.4% (2.6%)
- Plastic materials … $142.6 million, up 22.4% (2.5%)
- Animal feeds … $133.9 million, up 65.9% (2.4%).
Fastest-Growing Indonesian Imports from the U.S.
Led by a remarkable 1,826% spike in U.S. meat and poultry exports, the other 9 fastest-growing American exports to Indonesia had triple-digit percentage gains of at least 124.4% in 2008.
- Meat and poultry … US$9.8 million, up 1,826% from 2007
- Materials handling equipment … $118.1 million, up 558.7%
- Non-farm tractors and parts … $7.5 million, up 336.3%
- Specialized mining equipment … $23.4 million, up 294.3%
- Buses, trucks and special purpose vehicles … $12.6 million, up 293.7%
- Railway transportation equipment … $12.2 million, up 293.5%
- Copper … $16.1 million, up 198.7%
- Excavating machinery … $108.2 million, up 161.2%
- Generators and accessories … $32.3 million, up 132.1%
- Steelmaking materials … $178.7 million, up 124.4%.
Comparative Trade Advantages
During 2008, Indonesia exported $1.7 billion worth of natural rubber to the U.S. while importing none from America. Indonesian exporters also shipped $1.1 billion worth of fish and shellfish to the U.S. while consuming $22.3 million in similar American seafood.
These Indonesian-American trade statistics show that Indonesia has strong comparative advantages over the U.S. in exporting natural rubber from vast Indonesian jungles and fish and shellfish from the Indonesian ocean fishing industry.
For its part, America exported $626 million worth of soybeans to Indonesia in 2008 contrasted with no soybean shipments from Indonesia. U.S. wheat exports to Indonesia amounted to $364 million compared to no Indonesian wheat imports.
These large discrepancies clearly show that America has competitive advantages in producing sufficient quantities of soybeans and wheat required to feed the Indonesian people.
Sources
This analysis is based on latest statistics from the US Census Bureau- Foreign Trade Statistics and CIA World Factbook as of the date of article publication.
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