YOGYAKARTA. Bank UOB economist Enrico Tanuwidjaja said that this year's export performance would be limited. The reason is that global market demand is still threatened by the weakening global economy due to the trade wars of the United States (US) and China.
"Global economic growth has weakened, and it has hampered exports," Enrico said as quoted by Kontan.co.id, Monday (15/7).
Signs of a decline in exports have been felt in the first half of this year. The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reported that export data reached US$ 74,214 million. Meanwhile, in the first semester of 2018, exports reached US$ 79,409.4 million, 6.54% higher.
For non-oil and gas sector, the prices of Indonesia's mainstay commodities (coal and crude palm oil (CPO)) also fell. In the first semester, the price of palm oil in the Malaysian Derivative Exchange fell by 18.7%, while the price of coal at ICE NewCastle dropped by 42.7%.
Maybank economist Lutfi Ridho, said that commodity prices were weakening when weakened global economy erodes demand. As a result, it affects Indonesian exports, since Indonesia routinely exports CPO and coal to the US and China. (AM/AR)