Boosting Cooperation: Indonesia's Trade Balance with Africa

Indonesia plans to enhance economic cooperation with African countries. Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita is striving to enable Indonesian products to access non-traditional export markets, particularly in Africa. However, Indonesia has consistently experienced a trade deficit with African countries. According to the Ministry of Trade's data, Indonesia's trade balance with Central Africa has been in deficit since 2014.

Despite this, the value of the deficit between Indonesia and Africa has decreased annually. While a deficit persists, the deficit figure has been reduced each year. In 2018, Indonesia's trade deficit with Africa dropped by 90.32%, from US$2.02 million in 2017 to US$195,900. Up to June 2019, the trade deficit between Indonesia and Africa reached US$134,100.

The trade balance between Indonesia and South Africa shows a similar trend. The Indonesia-South Africa trade deficit in 2018 reached US$423.09 million. This is in contrast to the previous year, when Indonesia recorded a surplus of US$212.9 million. Up to June 2019, the trade balance between Indonesia and South Africa remained in deficit at US$124.16 million.

(Read Databoks: [Trade Balance Deficit US$63.5 Million in July 2019](https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2019/08/15/neraca-perdagangan-defisit-us-635-juta-pada-juli-2019))