The BPS said that oil and gas exports increased by 39.08 percent, while non-oil and gas exports rose by only 9.74 percent.

It said that the higher non-oil and gas exports mainly occurred in March, with exports of this category being traditionally higher during the last part of the quarter.

The BPS said that exports in March increased by 3.85 percent to $5.07 billion compared to the level in February, mainly due to higher non-oil and gas export revenues. Oil exports in this period declined due to lower oil prices compared to the level in the previous month.

The government has been hoping that the country's export performance would improve this year to help meet the 4 percent economic growth target.

But some analysts have doubts that exports can be pushed higher this year due to rising global uncertainty and tougher competition from other countries in the region. They say that because of the weak export and investment prospects, the economy would likely grow by only 3.3-3.4 percent this year, thus worsening the unemployment situation here.

The government hoped rising prices for the country's main export commodities could help meet the target.

Meanwhile, the BPS also said that imports in the first quarter increased by 29.40 percent to $8.58 billion.

But imports in March declined by 2.53 percent to $2.88 billion compared to the level in February, which may suggest that the global uncertainty had already started to affect local companies, with a resultant slowdown in the importation of raw materials.

The recent war in Iraq, analysts said, had hurt business confidence in the country, while gloomy prospects in the job market were also affecting consumer confidence.

The World Bank has said that slowing manufacturing activity would limit this year's economic growth at less than the government's target.

Falling imports, however, made the trade surplus in March increase to $2.19 billion from $1.92 billion in February.
(TheJakartaPost)(hdk/yn)