Jakarta. Indonesia sustained its trade surplus in November, marking the 43rd consecutive month of positive trade, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Friday.

In November, the country's trade balance reflected a surplus of $2.41 billion. However, exports witnessed a decline, totaling $22 billion, down by 8.56 percent year-on-year.

For the period of January to November, the total export value stood at $236.41 billion, indicating an 11.83 percent drop compared to the same period last year.

On the import side, November saw a 3.29 percent rise to $19.59 billion compared to the previous year. The cumulative imports for the first 11 months decreased by 6.8 percent to $202.78 billion compared to the corresponding period last year.

The surplus figure as of November 2023 reached $33.63 billion.

India emerged as the third-largest recipient of Indonesian non-oil and gas exports, accounting for $18.45 billion during the January-November period of 2023.

China continued to be the primary destination, receiving $56.57 billion worth of Indonesian non-oil exports, constituting over a quarter of the total non-oil export value. The United States followed as the second-largest recipient, recording $21.17 billion.

In terms of non-oil imports, China remained the largest source, contributing $56.74 billion or 33.31 percent of the total non-oil imports as of November 2023.

Japan stood as the second-largest contributor, with imports valued at $15.2 billion (8.92 percent), while Thailand ranked third with $9.36 billion (5.5 percent).