Indonesia Faces Risk of Deindustrialization as Imports Plunge Further in April 2020

Indonesia’s imports continued to fall for the tenth month in a row in April 2020, as manufacturing companies reduced production due to falling consumer demand caused by COVID-19. Indonesia recorded imports of IDR 12.54 billion in April 2020, down 18.58% year-over-year (YoY). According to Statistics Indonesia (SI), imports of consumer goods, raw material and capital goods declined by 16.6%, 19.1% and 17.1%, respectively, YoY in April 2020. This compares against a 7.02% YoY decline in Indonesia’s exports data from SI showed.

According to Shinta Kamdani, Deputy Chairwoman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the fall in imports poses a threat of Indonesia’s economy heading towards deindustr...