Indonesia’s 100 Top Imported Consumer Products

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The Republic of Indonesia is home to 272.2 million residents. Indonesia boasts the world’s 7th richest economy in terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on a Purchasing Power Parity basis, outputting US$3.507 trillion worth of products and services as of April 2021.

Indonesia is an intercontinental country located in Southeast Asia, a thriving global trade hub.

Another superlative strategic advantage of Indonesia making it an attractive international market is its proximity to powerful Asian trading partners including China, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and India, as well as Australia in Oceania.

Indonesia’s official language is Indonesian. With over 700 spoken languages, Indonesia is the world’s second-most linguistically diverse nation after Papua New Guinea. Historically, English has been categorized as Indonesia’s first foreign language.

Indonesia’s demand for imported consumer goods in 2020 resulted in a subtotal US$53.9 billion worth of Indonesian spending on the 100 most valuable consumer imports identified in this article.

That consumer-driven dollar amount translates to 38.1% of the overall value of all goods imported into Indonesia. Spending on all Indonesian imports, including raw materials, intermediate products and semi-finished goods, totaled an estimated overall $141.6 billion in 2020.

Among Indonesia’s most valuable consumer products in 2020 are: processed petroleum oils; petroleum gas; sugar; soya beans; and coal.

Spending on all of Indonesia’s imported goods declined by -17.3% from 2019 to 2020. Indonesia’s purchases focused on its top 100 consumer imports posted a smaller -16% decrease over the latest annual period.

The deceleration in Indonesian spending for key imported consumer products was more severe than the global average from 2019 to 2020, which was an average drop of -8.2% for all importing countries around the world.

Among the top 100 consumer products imported by Indonesia, 30 increased in total value from 2019 to 2020 whereas 70 declined. Changes in Indonesian consumer demand for essential imports offer future opportunities for international suppliers who correctly anticipate which upward or downward trends will continue.

Consumer Products Defined

Economics educator BoyceWire defines a consumer product as a final good or end product that a business creates for consumers to buy. For example, consumers often purchase refined petroleum oil at the gas station while imported crude oil is an intermediate good subject to further processing before being sold to end users.

Although there may be a few wealthy individual buyers, products like turbojets are excluded from the consumer products targeted by this study. That is because turbojets are usually purchased by corporations. In contrast, it is common for a consumer to buy a motorcycle.

Types of Consumer Products

This article focuses on 3 distinct consumer product types.

Convenience Products are easy to access, non-durable, have relatively lower prices and therefore consumers frequently purchase them. Examples of convenience products are food, alcoholic or non-alcoholic drinks, and soap.

Shopping Products are not as easily available, involve more time to make a buying decision, are durable and are not bought as often as most convenience products. A great example of a shopping product is a mobile phone where buying the wrong model is a much more expensive mistake than buying a disappointing loaf of bread.

Speciality Products describe another consumer product type. This grey area includes infrequently purchased, expensive, durable and sometimes rare items. Consumers may consider the product’s brand image when making their purchase decisions. Some examples of speciality products are gold, silver, diamonds, jewelry, and branded refrigerators and dishwashers.

Indonesia’s Most Valuable Imported Convenience Products

The list below showcases the most valuable imported convenience products on which buyers in Indonesia spent the most. Items were selected at the four-digit Harmonized System tariff classification code level and are presented in descending order.

You can also peruse the greatest increases or decreases in product values from 2019 to 2020 by focusing on the percentages displayed to the right of each product name.

  1. Processed petroleum oils: US$7,967,702,000 (down -39.1%)
  2. Petroleum gas: $2,581,032,000 (up 2.9%)
  3. Sugar (cane or beet): $1,935,927,000 (up 41.7%)
  4. Soya beans: $1,003,422,000 (down -5.7%)
  5. Coal, solid fuels made from coal: $902,666,000 (down -14.2%)
  6. Medications: $709,669,000 (up 18.5%)
  7. Onions, garlic, leeks: $651,313,000 (up 11%)
  8. Apples, pears (fresh): $628,176,000 (up 8.7%)
  9. Frozen beef: $559,284,000 (down -14.4%)
  10. Other food preparations: $532,892,000 (up 1.4%)
  11. Cocoa beans: $505,495,000 (down -13.5%)
  12. Miscellaneous plastic items: $503,375,000 (down -11.1%)
  13. Plastic packing goods, lids, caps: $444,491,000 (down -8.7%)
  14. Malt extract, food preparations: $320,303,000 (up 4.6%)
  15. Grapes (fresh or dried): $277,973,000 (down -27.3%)
  16. Other organic cleaning preparations: $269,924,000 (up 4%)
  17. Rice: $195,409,000 (up 6.1%)
  18. Provitamins, vitamins: $185,428,000 (up 12.6%)
  19. Corn: $172,649,000 (down -18.8%)
  20. Fresh or dried citrus fruit: $150,319,000 (down -37.3%)
  21. Perfumes, toilet waters: $143,388,000 (down -16.2%)
  22. Whole fish (frozen): $132,382,000 (down -7.1%)
  23. Cheese, curd: $118,258,000 (down -11.4%)
  24. Dried shelled vegetables: $112,849,000 (up 19.5%)
  25. Red meat offal: $111,192,000 (down -20.4%)
  26. Antibiotics: $107,058,000 (down -6.6%)
  27. Coffee/tea extracts, concentrates: $106,592,000 (down -18.7%)
  28. Bread, biscuits, cakes, pastries: $92,626,000 (down -13.2%)
  29. Miscellaneous fruits (fresh): $91,017,000 (down -44.1%)
  30. Sauces, mixed condiments, seasoning: $88,399,000 (down -9.2%)
  31. Plastic wares (table, kitchen, toiletry): $87,842,000 (down -7.4%)
  32. Waters with added sugar: $86,531,000 (down -14.9%)
  33. Dates/pineapples/mango/avocado: $82,052,000 (up 30%)
  34. Crustaceans (including lobsters): $77,411,000 (down -14.5%)
  35. Vegetable saps, extracts: $75,978,000 (down -6.6%)
  36. Chocolate, other cocoa preparations: $73,727,000 (down -30.8%)

Convenience products led by the products listed above represent the Asian country’s second-most popular import product type attracting Indonesia’s international spending behind shopping products but ahead of speciality goods.

Non-durable consumer products are goods that are not re-used once consumed. Alcoholic beverages and bananas are examples of non-durable goods. Convenience products are uniquely non-durable consumer products.

Indonesia’s Most Valuable Imported Shopping Products

Below, the list highlights the most valuable imported shopping products on which buyers in Indonesia spent the greatest amounts. Items were selected at the four-digit Harmonized System tariff classification code level and are presented from highest to lowest total amounts.

The percentages displayed to the right of each product name reveal the highest increases or decreases in Indonesian spending on that specific type of shopping product from 2019 to 2020.

  1. Phones: US$5,963,123,000 (up 4.9%)
  2. Computers, optical readers: $2,022,836,000 (down -11.8%)
  3. Automobile parts/accessories: $1,841,514,000 (down -45.5%)
  4. Lower-voltage switches, fuses: $908,082,000 (down -19.4%)
  5. Insulated wire/cable: $848,256,000 (down -8.6%)
  6. Motorcycle parts/accessories: $779,975,000 (up 11.9%)
  7. Electrical converters/power units: $751,469,000 (down -2.1%)
  8. Printing machinery: $710,748,000 (down -25.8%)
  9. Hot-rolled iron/non-alloy steel items: $686,178,000 (down -38.5%)
  10. Cars: $611,712,000 (down -45.9%)
  11. Packaged insecticides, herbicides: $568,691,000 (up 18.5%)
  12. Rubber tires (new): $521,860,000 (down -8.7%)
  13. Wide knit or crochet fabrics: $338,635,000 (down -15.3%)
  14. Screws, bolts, washers, hooks, pins: $333,024,000 (down -38.2%)
  15. Fish or meat flours, pellets: $328,143,000 (up 7.8%)
  16. Microphones/headphones/amps: $319,411,000 (down -5.4%)
  17. Miscellaneous furniture: $292,852,000 (up 8.9%)
  18. Paper containers, cellulose wadding: $289,816,000 (down -13.7%)
  19. Trucks: $289,356,000 (down -67.9%)
  20. Electric lamps: $286,702,000 (down -15.7%)
  21. Unrecorded sound media: $285,617,000 (up 24.3%)
  22. Vulcanized rubber items: $259,809,000 (down -20.2%)
  23. Computer parts, accessories: $259,569,000 (up 16.7%)
  24. Aluminum foil: $256,424,000 (down -0.2%)
  25. Cases, handbags, wallets: $253,107,000 (down -41.5%)
  26. Insoles, heel cushions: $251,405,000 (down -17.2%)
  27. Miscellaneous textile items: $221,802,000 (up 497.6%)
  28. Miscellaneous iron or steel items: $204,226,000 (down -32.6%)
  29. Seats (not barber/dentist chairs): $176,966,000 (down -33%)
  30. Footwear (textile): $155,801,000 (down -43.5%)
  31. Miscellaneous toys: $155,412,000 (down -23.6%)
  32. Primary batteries/cells: $150,173,000 (up 5.1%)
  33. Prepared glues, adhesives: $143,501,000 (down -12.1%)
  34. Paints, varnishes: $138,809,000 (down -16.7%)
  35. Wrist/pocket watches (regular case): $129,647,000 (down -26.3%)
  36. Footwear (rubber or plastic): $122,598,000 (down -23.3%)
  37. Locks, lock-keys: $121,522,000 (down -32.8%)
  38. Lubricant/anti-rust preparations: $120,612,000 (down -18.4%)
  39. Miscellaneous aluminum items: $109,713,000 (up 24.2%)
  40. Sports equipment: $105,330,000 (up 9.5%)
  41. Bicycles, other non-motorized cycles: $88,227,000 (up 10.7%)
  42. Glass bottles, other containers: $83,387,000 (down -15.7%)
  43. Plastic tile or roll coverings: $83,347,000 (down -33.1%)
  44. Footwear (leather): $75,317,000 (down -33.3%)
  45. Soap, organic surface-active goods: $75,316,000 (up 9.7%)

Focusing on the scope of this analysis, shopping products is Indonesia’s most popular category ahead of both convenience products and speciality items.

Shopping products approached half (45) of the overall top 100 Indonesian imported consumer goods.

Durable consumer products are goods like cars, refrigerators and furniture that last a relatively long time. Consumers can put durable products to use again and again. Note that shopping products and speciality products are considered as durable consumer products.

Indonesia’s Most Valuable Imported Speciality Products

Speciality products represent the category with the fewest entries among Indonesia’s imports that attracted the country’s spending on imported consumer goods during 2020.

Selected at the four-digit Harmonized System tariff classification code level, the most valuable speciality items are listed in descending order below.

The percentage to the right of each product name reveal highest increases or decreases in 2020 compared to 2019.

  1. Gold (unwrought): US$1,901,743,000 (up 7.5%)
  2. Liquid pumps: $907,606,000 (down -24.8%)
  3. Temperature-change machines: $879,830,000 (up 20.4%)
  4. Potassic fertilizers: $742,910,000 (down -14.8%)
  5. Electric generating sets, converters: $668,306,000 (down -15.4%)
  6. Air conditioners: $597,989,000 (down -10.8%)
  7. Dishwash, clean/dry/fill machines: $508,997,000 (up 10.2%)
  8. Electric storage batteries: $462,281,000 (down -5.6%)
  9. Refrigerators, freezers: $397,669,000 (down -0.7%)
  10. Prefabricated buildings: $306,741,000 (down -9.5%)
  11. Electric water heaters, hair dryers: $305,741,000 (up 4.5%)
  12. Fertilizer mixes: $297,984,000 (up 14.1%)
  13. Beauty/makeup/skin care: $257,134,000 (down -28.2%)
  14. Household base metal mountings: $214,959,000 (down -13.5%)
  15. Special hand/machine tools: $202,230,000 (down -3.8%)
  16. Washing machines: $155,309,000 (down -2.8%)
  17. Nitrogenous fertilizers: $148,219,000 (down -20.3%)
  18. Speed/distance meters: $93,736,000 (down -21.3%)
  19. Sewing machines, related furniture: $87,781,000 (down -43.6%)

Like shopping products, speciality products are considered as durable consumer products.

Based on the product types identified in the sections above, 64 of Indonesia’s 100 highest-value consumer shopper plus speciality products are durable while the remaining 36 convenience products are classified as non-durable.

Indonesia’s Overall Fastest-Growing Consumer Imports

Listed below are the top 10 consumer products imported into Indonesia that experienced the highest percentage increases in spending from 2019 to 2020.

  1. Miscellaneous textile items: Up 497.6% (US$221.8 million)
  2. Sugar: Up 41.7% ($1.9 billion)
  3. Dates, pineapples, mangos or avocados: Up 30% ($82.1 million)
  4. Unrecorded sound media: Up 24.3% ($285.6 million) 
  5. Miscellaneous aluminum items: Up 24.2% ($109.7 million)
  6. Temperature-change machines: Up 20.4% ($879.8 million)
  7. Dried shelled vegetables: Up 19.5% ($112.8 million)
  8. Medications: Up 18.5% ($709.7 million)
  9. Packaged insecticides, herbicides: Up 18.5% ($568.7 million)
  10. Computer parts or accessories: Up 16.7% ($259.6 million)

Just one among the above top 10 gainers is a speciality product and therefore also a durable good that consumers can re-use over time. That speciality product is temperature-change machines.

There are 5 fastest-growers that are also imported shopping products. These are miscellaneous textile items, unrecorded sound media, miscellaneous aluminum items, packaged insecticides or herbicides, and computer parts or accessories.

The remaining 4 front-runners are non-durable imported convenience products. These growth leaders include sugar; the product subcategory titled dates, pineapples, mangos and avocados; dried shelled vegetables; and medications.

Indonesia’s Overall Worst-Declining Consumer Imports

Spending by import buyers in Indonesia on the following 10 items decreased in value by the highest percentages from 2019 to 2020.

  1. Trucks: Down -69.9% ($289.4 million)
  2. Cars: Down -45.9% ($611.7 million)
  3. Automobile parts or accessories: Down -45.5% ($1.8 billion)
  4. Miscellaneous fresh fruits: Down -44.1% ($91 million)
  5. Sewing machines, related furniture: Down -43.6% ($87.8 million)
  6. Textile footwear: Down -43.5% ($155.8 million)
  7. Cases, handbags, wallets: Down -41.5% ($253.1 million)
  8. Processed petroleum oils: Down -39.1% ($8 billion)
  9. Hot-rolled iron/non-alloy steel items: Down -38.5% ($686.2 million)
  10. Screws, bolts, washers, hooks, pins: Down -38.2% ($333 million)

Seven categories among Indonesian top 10 severest decliners are durable shopping products used over a period of time. The severest slippages among those categories was for Indonesia’s imported trucks, cars, automobile parts or accessories and textile footwear.

The worst decline for the one durable speciality good was the product category sewing machines plus related furniture.

There were 2 non-durable convenience products among Indonesia’s 10 major import decliners from 2019 to 2020, namely miscellaneous fresh fruits and processed petroleum oils.

Key Product Suppliers by Country

The following analysis reveals competitive suppliers that target demand for 5 of Indonesia’s top consumer import products.

Indonesia’s biggest imported consumer product by value is processed petroleum oils.  The other 4 leading consumer goods imported into Indonesia are petroleum gas, sugar, soya beans and coal.

Below, you will find major supplying countries for Indonesia’s imported:

Processed petroleum oils: Singapore (51% of total), Malaysia (19.6%), Saudi Arabia (6.7%), South Korea (4.8%), United Arab Emirates (4.7%), China (3.3%), Qatar (1.9%), Kuwait (1.4%), Belgium (1%), and Bahrain (0.8%).

Petroleum gas: United States (35.5% of total), United Arab Emirates (28.2%), Qatar (16.2%), Saudi Arabia (7.2%), Australia (5%), Kuwait (4.2%), Bahrain (1.9%), Angola (1%), Malaysia (0.6%), and China (0.1%).

Sugar: Thailand (36.7% of total), Brazil (27.1%), Australia (22.2%), India (11.8%), South Africa (1.3%), Guatemala (0.7%) and South Korea (0.2%).

Soya beans: United States (90.3% of total), Canada (9.4%) and Malaysia (0.3%).

Coal: Australia (67.7% of total), Russia (17.6%), China (11.4%), Vietnam (2.3%), United States (0.5%), Hong Kong (0.3%), Malaysia (0.1%) and Japan (also 0.1%).

See also

More great research: Indonesia’s Main Imports by Top Supplier Countries, Thailand’s 100 Top Imported Consumer Products by Sales, Bangladesh’s 100 Most Valuable Imported Consumer Products, United Kingdom’s Top 100 Imported Consumer Products, 100 Top Consumer Products to Sell to Importers in Taiwan, Sweden’s Top Imported Consumer Products Ranked by Value

References

Independent insights and analysis presented in this article are based on researched facts and statistics sourced from the following educational portals.

BoyceWire, Consumer Goods Definition.

Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook: Indonesia Economy.

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases.

International Trade Centre, Trade Map.

Investopedia, Consumer Goods, Consumer Staples Definition, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG).

Richest Country Reports, Top 100 Richest Countries by GDP.

Trading Economics, Indonesia Consumer Spending.

Wikipedia, List of largest consumer markets.

Wikipedia, Indonesia, Geography of Indonesia, Languages of Indonesia.

World’s Top Exports, Indonesia’s Top 10 Imports.

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