VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The April 2019 trade balance is again in deficit. The April 2019 export and import balance showed a fairly high deficit of USD 2.5 billion, compared to last month which experienced a surplus of USD 0.7 billion. "The trade balance deficit in April 2019 was due to the weakening of exports due to a decline in global demand," said Head of the Trade Assessment and Development Agency, Kasan. Furthermore, Kasan explained, the deficit in April was also due to an increase in the oil and gas trade balance deficit from USD 0.4 billion last month to USD 1.5 billion in April 2019. Meanwhile, the non-oil and gas trade balance also declined, from a surplus of USD 1.1 billion to USD 1.0 billion. "Trade partner countries such as the United States, India, the Philippines, the Netherlands, and Malaysia accounted for the largest non-oil and gas trade surplus during April 2019, totaling USD 2.0 billion. Meanwhile, China, Thailand, Japan, Australia, and South Korea contributed the largest non-oil and gas trade deficit which reached a total of USD 3.0 billion, "explained Kasan. Cumulatively, the trade balance for the January-April 2019 period still has a deficit of USD 2.6 billion. This is due to the large oil and gas trade balance deficit which reached USD 2.8 billion, while the non-oil and gas trade account only contributed a surplus of USD 0.2 billion.

Gobal Conditions Press April 2019 Export Performance April 2019 export performance was recorded at 12.6 billion or 13.1 percent compared to the month's exports same in 2018 (YoY). The weakening of exports was due to a decline in oil and gas exports by 37.1 percent and a decline in non-oil and gas exports by 11.0 percent. "Cumulatively, exports from January to April 2019 amounted to USD 53.2 billion, decreasing by 9,4 percent compared to January-April 2018," continued Kasan. In detail, exports in April 2019 weakened in all sectors. Last year's export of agricultural sector rose 7.4 percent this year down 15.9 percent (YoY). Industry sector exports last year rose 8.1 percent, while this year it fell 11.8 percent. Exports of the mining sector rose 12.7 percent last year, while the year is 6.5 percent. The oil and gas sector exports last year rose 324.1 percent, while this year it dropped 37.1 percent.

Cumulatively from January to April 2019, exports of all sectors also experienced weakening. Agriculture sector exports fell 3.3 percent (YoY) and last year also fell 5.2 percent. Industrial sector exports fell 7.8 percent, while last year rose 5.4 percent. The mining sector was down 12.3 percent, while last year it rose 33.4 percent. Exports of the oil and gas sector fell by 18.2 percent, while last year it rose 2.5 percent. In addition, the decline in non-oil and gas exports during the January-April2019 period was also triggered by weakening exports to the top ten markets, except the Philippines and Vietnam which rose 2.9 percent. "This shows the condition of weakening market demand for the main destination countries of Indonesian exports," explained Kasan. April 2019 imports decreased compared to April 2018. April 2019 imports were recorded at USD 15.1 billion, up 12.2 percent compared to imports in March 201 (MoM), but experienced a 6.6 percent decrease in April 2018 (YoY).

The decline in imports in April last year was triggered by the decline in non-oil and gas imports by 7.0 percent and oil and gas imports which fell by 4.0 percent. Cumulatively, total imports during January-April 2019 reached USD 55.8 billion, or decreased by 7.2 compared to the same period of the year then that reached USD 60.1 billion. The decline in imports from January to April 2019 was triggered by a decline in the demand for imported oil and gas which was quite significant, which amounted to 22.8 percent, and non-oil and gas imports which also declined by 4.5 percent. goods. Imports of consumer goods fell by 11.9 percent, imports of raw / auxiliary materials fell 7.1 percent, and imports of capital goods fell 5.4 percent. Goods whose imports experienced a significant decline included fuel and lubricants (-33.4 percent), automotive parts and equipment (-15.8 percent), and capital goods spare parts and equipment (-8.8 percent). (kemendag)

The Financial System Stability Committee (KSSK) Coordination Meeting assessed that after the announcement of the results of the General Election (Election) recapitulation on Tuesday (21/5) and before Eid early next month, the Indonesian economy was still in good condition.

"To this day the public and business people believe and believe the Indonesian economy after the announcement will remain good," Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said after the KKSK meeting, in the Djuanda Hall, office of the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta, Thursday (5/23) afternoon .

Besides the Minister of Finance, the KKSK meeting was also attended by the Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI Governor) Perry Warjiyo, Chairman of the Financial Services Authority Board of Commissioners (Chairperson of DK-OJK) Wimboh Santoso, and representatives of the Deposit Insurance Agency (LPS) Chairperson.

Minister of Finance deeply regretted the riots. However, the Minister of Finance believes that all investors and business people have understood the electoral process and that law enforcement officials can anticipate and resolve the incident according to the applicable law. According to him, this belief is the basis of the implementation of the entire country and will be reflected in national economic indicators.

In addition, the Minister of Finance also said that the holiday allowance (THR) disbursement process had been realized in half and would continue to monitor the remaining disbursement. He hopes the community can celebrate Eid with a safe atmosphere after fasting for one month.

"We hope that the security atmosphere will be maintained so that people can hold Ramadan services and at the same time celebrate the Eid-ul-Fitr festivities with their families and relatives who also usually have a positive impact on the economy," continued the Minister.

Minister of Finance stated that KSSK in accordance with its mandate will continue to maintain financial sector stability as a very strategic and important sector in maintaining Indonesia's economy without compromise.

Meanwhile, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo on the occasion stated that Bank Indonesia had increased money exchange services to welcome holidays at 2,975 points, both at the central and branch offices. He also assured that the need for money in the community for Eid would be fulfilled by Bank Indonesia. ( Ministry of Finance )

Since Monday (May 20, 2019), Ukraine has been officially led by Volodymyr Zelensky who won the country's elections. His victory was quite fantastic because he could reach more than 70% of the votes in the second round, defeating incumbent Petro Poroshenko. This was quite surprising because Zelensky defeated his opponent who has a lot of experience  in the political world. However, the fact is that the Ukrainian people prefer a 41-year-old comedian who often plays the role of president to become a real president. Dissatisfaction with the political situation in Ukraine was a factor in Zelensky's victory.

Other surprises also happened after Zelensky was elected. Before being sworn in, the presidential elect disputed with parliament about the date of his inauguration. After being sworn in, the surprise continued with President Zelensky's plan to dissolve the parliament. Instead of waiting for the general election to be held in October, Zelensky chose to dissolve the parliament. Thus to form a new parliament, early elections will be held next July. The President, despite having a large people's mandate, apparently was not too supported in the parliament. So, the agendas, including choosing key officials, are not necessarily going smoothly.

With early elections, an important stage of political and economic reform can be passed. That’s something difficult to do with the current parliament. Some of the most difficult things confronted by Zelensky include: the occupation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia, armed conflict in the eastern part of the country, and the economic crisis that plagued Ukraine.

Being a president in a play may be done by a comedian by following the script storyline. But being a true president, the leader of a country must carry out in accordance with the mandate of the constitution, not just a simple script. The Ukrainian people will judge whether the comedianwho turns to be president can carry out his duties as a true leader by resolving the problems at hand.

Indonesians agricultural sector has kept showing impressive achievements in recent years. This can be seen from the surge in export value and the increase in Gross Domestic Product -GDP which contributes to economic growth and declines poverty rate.

Since 2015, exports of agricultural products have experienced a surge compared to the previous period. In 2015, the volume of agricultural exports reached 40.4 million tons. In 2014, the volume of agricultural export products only reached 36.1 million tons. In 2017, exports of agricultural products reached 41.3 million tons. In 2018, the volume of agricultural product exports rose to 42.5 million tons. If accumulated, the total exports have reached Rp 1,764 trillion over the past four years.

Various achievements in the Indonesian agricultural sector received appreciation from several international delegations who attended the Regional Conference on Strengthening Southeast Asia's Food Security, Nutrition, and Farmers' Welfare through the UN Decade of Family Farming in Jakarta more recently.

Deputy Country Director of World Food Program, Peter Holtsberg admitted, he was impressed with the achievements of Indonesian agriculture sector development in the recent years, especially related to development initiatives focused on infrastructure, capacity building, training, and efforts to bring access for small farmers to local and international markets.

Furthermore, IFAD Country Program Manager for Pacific, Taufiq El-Zabri acknowledged that the efforts made by Indonesian government were enough to inspire and encourage other countries to do the same in pushing the development of the agricultural sector. He was impressed with models of capacity building, training, infrastructure development, and efforts to increase added value. According to him, the support made by the government has been considered successful and shows an increase in farmers' income, improved nutritional status, and better education and livelihoods.

Quoting FFTC website, the Food Sustainability Index released by The Economist Intelligence Unit in 2016 placed Indonesian agriculture sector at 25^th of 113 countries; and 16^th for agriculture sustainability.

When the national exports are weakening, the achievement of the agricultural sector is very encouraging, because Indonesian agricultural products show impressive performance. It is appropriate for agriculture to become the backbone of the Indonesian economy, given that many agricultural products have potential export.