InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – Indonesia's trade balance continues to show brilliant performance. Minister of Trade Budi Santoso reported that throughout January–July 2025, the national trade surplus reached US$23.65 billion. This figure jumped significantly compared to the same period last year, which was only US$16.25 billion.
The Minister of Trade explained that the surplus was mainly supported by the non-oil and gas sector, which recorded a surplus of US$34.06 billion, up from US$28.49 billion in January–July 2024. The United States, India, and the Philippines were the top three contributors to the largest surplus, with values of US$12.13 billion, US$8.13 billion, and US$5.07 billion, respectively.
On a monthly basis, the trade balance for July 2025 remained consistently positive with a surplus of US$4.17 billion, slightly higher than June 2025's US$4.10 billion. "This achievement marks a continuous surplus trend for 63 consecutive months since May 2020," the Minister of Trade said in an official statement received by InfoSAWIT on Thursday (9/4/2025).
In terms of exports, national performance in January–July 2025 was recorded at US$160.16 billion, a growth of 8.03% compared to last year. Non-oil and gas exports made a large contribution with a value of US$152.20 billion, up 9.55%. The manufacturing industry dominated non-oil and gas exports with a contribution of 84.19%, followed by the mining sector at 13.21% and agriculture at 2.60%. Interestingly, agricultural exports surged by 43.62% thanks to an increase in commodities such as coffee, coconut, and areca nut.
The three non-oil and gas commodities that recorded the highest export growth were cocoa and its derivatives, which skyrocketed by 108.39%; coffee, tea, and spices at 69.93%; and aluminum and its derivative products at 68.57%. In terms of destination countries, China, the U.S., and India remained the main markets with a total export value of US$63.22 billion, or 41.53% of national non-oil and gas exports. The countries with the largest export jumps included Switzerland (147.12%), Egypt (48.31%), Thailand (40.81%), Bangladesh (39.13%), and Brazil (37.55%).
By region, exports to Central Asia grew the highest at 81.22%, followed by West Africa at 67.16% and East Africa at 53.42%. Specifically for July 2025, the export value reached US$24.75 billion, a 5.60% increase compared to June 2025, and a 9.86% growth compared to July of last year. This growth was driven by a 12.83% surge in non-oil and gas exports, even though oil and gas exports fell by 34.13%.
"The increase in cocoa exports, especially cocoa butter and cocoa powder, reflects high global demand. This trend provides a great opportunity for the national cocoa processing industry," the Minister of Trade concluded. (T2)
