Indonesia’s Exports Hit Record High in 2021 as Iron, Steel Industry Rise: Jokowi

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that Indonesia’s exports hit a record high of $232 billion, or up 41.9 percent in 2021, contributed by the iron and steel downstream industry.

“It is the highest in history,” Jokowi said in his televised speech at the 2022 Mandiri Investment Forum on Wednesday, Feb. 9.

“Indonesia’s imports grew by 38.6 percent, which indicates the strengthening of the domestic economy,” the president said.

He went on to add that 2022 would be a momentum for the country’s economic recovery as Indonesia managed to control the transmission of coronavirus fueled by the more virulent Delta variant in the third quarter of 2021. This was the key to a rapid economic recovery in the fourth quarter of last year.

Also read: Indonesia State Firm Ships First Batch Coffee Export to Egypt

“The acceleration of the national vaccination program and better control of the pandemic are the key factors in the economic recovery.”

However, the country’s economic recovery is still facing challenges, fueled by external factors such as disruptions in the supply chain that trigger an increase in global inflation. Besides, it is also influenced by the normalization of US monetary policy which will occur more quickly.

“We are grateful that several economic indicators are showing a better trend now. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index [PMI] as of January 2022 stood at 53.7 and was in the expansion zone. This was higher than the manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index in ASEAN at 52.7,” he said.

“The investment also grew better in 2021 as it reached 901 trillion rupiahs ($62.8 billion) or grew by nine percent year-on-year,” he said.

Meanwhile, foreign investment stood at 454 trillion rupiahs ($31.6 billion) or up 10 percent year-on-year. This showed that the world’s trust in Indonesia remains unchanged amid the pandemic.

(Writer: Dian Erika Nugraheny | Editor: Bagus Santosa)

Source: https://nasional.kompas.com/read/2022/02/09/10233861/jokowi-angka-ekspor-kita-tumbuh-419-persen-tertinggi-sepanjang-sejarah?page=all#page2.