Indonesia trade in deficit on mineral export ban

Posted on March 3, 2014 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

Indonesia swung to a trade deficit in January as a controversial government ban on mineral ore shipments by Southeast Asia’s biggest economy crimped overall exports, data showed Monday.

The January deficit of $431 million compared to a $1.5 billion surplus in December, the official Statistics Agency said.

“The 5.75 percent drop in exports is due to the annual pattern and the coming into effect of the mineral law,” said Adi Lumaksono, a senior official at the agency.