RI books trade deficit

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's trade deficit with Australia increased 32.5 percent from A$1.04 billion in 1995 to $1.38 billion last year despite an increase in exports to Australia.

Harmen Sembiring, a senior official at the Indonesian embassy in Canberra, said yesterday one reason the deficit rose was because Australia's exports grew faster than Indonesia's.

Australian exports to Indonesia rose 30 percent from A$2.4 billion in 1995 to A$3.1 billion this year while Indonesia's rose 27 percent from A$1.34 billion to A$1.74 billion, he told Antara..

Indonesia's non-oil and gas exports fell 1.4 percent from A$828 million in 1995 to A$816 million in 1996. (10)