North Sumatra's trade balance was a surplus of US$411.97 million in February 2022. This calculation was obtained based on exports of US$885.40 million and imports of US$473.42. Despite recording a surplus, the value obtained in February 2022 tends to decrease compared to the trade balance in January 2022. At that time, North Sumatra's exports were recorded at US$956.41 million and imports valued at US$529.29 million. So there was a surplus of US$427.12 million in January 2022. Thus, there was a decrease in the surplus of US$15.15 million when compared to February 2022. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) of North Sumatra, there were three countries that contributed to the surplus for international trade in North Sumatra in February 2022. The three were the United States, the Netherlands and Japan. Meanwhile, the three largest countries that contributed to the deficit were Argentina, Australia and Singapore. "The trade balance in February 2022 recorded a surplus of US$411.97 million. This is a positive thing for the dynamics of our international trade, especially in North Sumatra," said Head of BPS North Sumatra Nurul Hasanudin, Monday (11/4/2022). In February 2022, North Sumatra's exports fell by 7.43 percent. Likewise with imports which fell by 10.56 percent. The value of exports through loading ports in the North Sumatra region decreased in February 2022 compared to January 2022. From US$956.41 million to US$885.40 million, or a decrease of 7.43 percent. However, compared to February 2021, North Sumatra's exports have increased by 19.75 percent.

Based on BPS records, the category of goods that experienced the largest increase in North Sumatra's export value in February 2022 to January 2022 was the dregs/food industry residue of US$10.07 million. The increase reached 25.81 percent. Meanwhile, China was still the largest export destination for North Sumatra in February 2022. The value reached US$125.09 million. Then followed by the United States at US$77.00 million and Russia at US$56.41 million. The composition of the three contributed 29.20 percent. According to the main group of export destinations in February 2022, exports to the Asian region (outside ASEAN) were the largest with a value of US$293.00 million or contributed 33.09 percent. By sector, agriculture experienced a decline of US$6.03 million or -9.92 percent in February 2022 compared to January 2022. The industrial sector also experienced a decline of US$65.03 million or -7.26 percent. The contribution of the export value of the industrial sector was recorded at 93.81 percent and the agricultural sector at 6.19 percent. Meanwhile, the combined mining and quarrying sector, oil and gas sector, and other sectors amounted to 0.00 percent.

On the other hand, the value of imports through North Sumatra on the basis of cost, insurance & freight (CIF) in February 2022 was recorded at US$473.42 million or decreased by 10.56 percent compared to January 2022 which reached US$529.29 million. However, when compared to the same month in the previous year, the value of imports increased by 11.16 percent. According to usage class, the import value of capital goods in February 2022 was recorded to have decreased by 27.86 percent compared to January 2022. Likewise, consumption goods decreased by 26.33 percent and raw/auxiliary materials decreased by 6.90 percent. In February 2022, the category of goods that experienced the largest increase in import value was sugar and confectionery by US$22.01 million or 311.95 percent. China became the largest importing country with a value of US$124.21 million. Its contribution accounts for 26.24 percent of North Sumatra's total imports. Followed by Singapore at US$67.70 million or 14.30 percent and Malaysia at US$62.75 million or 13.25 percent. The largest import value in February 2022 came from the mineral fuel category of US$109.68 million, followed by machinery/aircraft mechanics of US$38.31 million.

Source: https://m.bisnis.com/amp/read/20220411/534/1521687/neraca-perdagangan-sumut-surplus-us41197-juta