Indonesia's Imports Drop 15% in January 2025 Amidst New Year Holiday

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that Indonesia's import value reached US$19 billion in January 2024.

This represents a 15.18% decrease month-to-month (mtm) compared to December 2024, which amounted to US$21.22 billion.

Acting Head of BPS, Amalia A. Widyasanti, explained that the decline in import value during this period was influenced by the numerous holidays.

"Industrial activity has not yet fully recovered, as most weeks in January were still holidays," Amalia said in an online press conference on Monday, February 17, 2025.

One holiday that significantly impacted Indonesian import trade was the Lunar New Year, which resulted in less-than-usual activity in both industry and the broader economy.

In January 2025, a decrease in import value occurred in both the non-oil and gas and oil and gas sectors.

Non-oil and gas imports fell by 13.43% (mtm) to US$15.51 billion last month.

BPS data shows that all five main categories of non-oil and gas goods experienced a decline. Cereals saw the steepest drop, falling 56.36% (mtm) to US$264 million.

This was followed by precious metals and jewelry/gems, which plummeted 44.81% (mtm) to US$295.9 million, and optical, photographic, cinematographic, and medical instruments, which decreased by 39.97% (mtm) to US$245 million.

Similarly, oil and gas imports also fell by 24.69% (mtm) to US$2.48 billion in January 2025.

This decrease was observed in crude oil, which dropped 38.84% (mtm) to US$551 million, and oil products, which were corrected by 19.37% (mtm) to US$1.93 billion.