The performance of the North Sulawesi Provincial Government continues to shine. Data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) indicates that in September 2023, North Sulawesi's trade balance achieved a surplus of USD 34.98 million. Meanwhile, international tourist arrivals to North Sulawesi through Sam Ratulangi Airport increased by 42.70%. Furthermore, on a year-on-year basis, tourist arrivals increased by 207% from August 2022 to August 2023. The Farmer's Exchange Rate (NTP) for North Sulawesi in September reached 111.25, reflecting a 0.64% increase from the August figure of 110.55. The efforts of the North Sulawesi Provincial Government to control inflation have yielded positive results. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that North Sulawesi had the lowest inflation rate in Indonesia in September 2023, standing at 1.16%. The Regent expressed gratitude for the significant decrease in North Sulawesi's inflation rate.
It is worth noting that besides North Sulawesi, nine other provinces in Indonesia successfully controlled inflation in September 2023. These provinces include Gorontalo at 1.16%, West Sulawesi at 1.19%, Papua at 1.28%, Jambi at 1.70%, Aceh at 1.83%, Central Kalimantan at 1.88%, DKI Jakarta at 1.89%, West Sumatra at 1.94%, Riau at 1.96%, and Banten at 2.04%. For Manado City, all expenditure groups experienced an increase in the YoY index, with food and beverage/restaurants at 2.93%, personal care and other services at 2.49%, clothing and footwear at 2.33%, recreation, sports, and culture at 1.84%, food, beverages, and tobacco at 1.52%, household equipment and routine household maintenance at 0.71%, housing, water, electricity, and household fuels at 0.25%, transportation at 0.22%, information, communication, and financial services at 0.20%, health at 0.05%, and education at 0.01%. The largest contributor to YoY inflation in September 2023 was rice at 0.7871%, while the largest contributor to deflation was bird's eye chili at 0.4137%. Meanwhile, the largest contributor to Month-on-Month (MoM) inflation in September 2023 was deho fish at 0.0971%, while the largest contributor to deflation was tomatoes at 0.0955%.
