U.S. greatest buyer of Bali commodities

The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

The United States was recorded as the largest buyer of Bali's non-oil and gas products during the first 11 months (January to November) of 2002, amounting to US$87.5 million, according to data published on Friday.

The local branch of Bank Indonesia (BI) told Antara here that Bali exported non-oil and gas commodities, such as handicrafts, fishery products and garments to the U.S. and other countries. "Japan was the second-largest taker of Indonesian goods," it said.

Balinese businesses are, to date, still heavily dependent on the U.S. market but have begun to market their products to European markets. "Some European countries, such as Italy, France and Germany were listed as the largest buyers in the region," it said.

Bali's exports to the region reached $102.5 million. Exports to France totaled $20 million, Italy $18.6 million and Germany $12 million.

It was predicted that Bali's exports to those countries would rise due to an improvement in economic conditions in the European economy.

Antara said BI had collected export data from all regions across the country and processed it at BI headquarters in Jakarta. Since 1999, export products have been recorded by province of origin.