Indonesia’s March LPG imports slump as Middle East supplies dry up
Thursday, May 7 2026 - 08:43 AM WIB
By Pandu Setiabudi
Indonesia’s liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports fell sharply in March from both the previous month and a year earlier, as supplies from key Middle Eastern exporters were absent during the month, official data showed.
Imports totaled 469.6 thousand tons in March, down 27.6% from February and 27.4% from the same month last year, according to data released by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) on Monday.
The decline was largely due to the absence of shipments from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, which had contributed supplies earlier in the year.
LPG imports in March were dominated by the United States, which supplied 424.7 thousand tons, accounting for 90.4% of total imports for the month. This figure rose 29.3% from the previous month and 13.8% compared to March last year. The remaining imports were supplied by the United Arab Emirates at 44.9 thousand tons, down 68.2% MoM and 60.4% YoY.
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During January-February 2026, Middle Eastern countries supplied a combined 434.9 thousand tons of LPG, accounting for 33.3% of Indonesia’s total imports of 1.3 million tons over the period.
For Q1 2026, Indonesia’s LPG imports reached 1.77 million tons, down 5.8% YoY. Supply during the quarter came from the United States at 1.22 million tons (-1.3% YoY), the United Arab Emirates at 210.1 thousand tons (-16.4%), Saudi Arabia at 130.7 thousand tons (+493.2%), Qatar at 92.6 thousand tons (-71.4%), Australia at 69.4 thousand tons (no imports in Q1 last year), and Kuwait at 46.7 thousand tons (+3.3%).
Indonesia imported 7.49 million tons of LPG worth US$3.81 billion in 2025, with the United States accounting for 70.3% of total supply and Middle Eastern countries contributing 29.1%, according to BPS data.
Editing by Reiner Simanjuntak