Denpasar (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian tourist resort province of Bali exported 7.1 tons of coffee worth US$58,645 in the five period of January-May 2010, a regional government spokesman said.
Bali's Chief Regional Government Spokesman I Ketut Teneng said here on Sunday that the January-May 2010 coffee exports were sightly higher than those exported in the same period in the previous year.
He said that in term of volume the exports this year only increased 9.26 percent and of value they increased only by about 2.27 percent.
Teneng said the exports were shipped to Japan, France and a number of other European countries.
Actually, Bali's nonoil/gas exports to Japan in January 2010 reached 28.3 million US dollars, a 24.3 pct increase compared to the 22.8 million dollars in last year's same period.
"This means that the Balinese businessmen had become increasingly able to meet the wished for the Japanese for quality products," head of the Bali industrial and trade export agency Putu Bagiada meanwhile said recently.
Bagiada said Japan is only second to the United States in purchasing Bali's handicraft articles and some other nonoil/gas commodities worth 30.5 million dollars on the same time, while third on the list is France with 17.9 million dollars.
The various handicraft articles and goods of the Balinese like household utensils from bamboo combined with rattan have become very popular.
Garments of Balinese handicraft workers have beautiful designs and styles and had also been exported to Japan, in addition to Japanese traditional clothing developed by the Balinese like the kimonos were also exported to Japan.
An exporter of handicraft goods from Mas Ubud village, Nyoman Sudana, said the handicraft articles from Bali had been increasingly imported to Japan as that country's economy had been improving substantially.
Bali's paintings had also been exported to Japan, especially those of a spiritual nuance like pictures on worshipers of Buddhism on big canvas.
Japanese like small and practical articles for gifts or presents, like albums of banana leaves, kimonos, gold coated ballpoints with Balnese ornaments.
Silver accessories are also sought like earrings, broaches of different types and styles, flowers, butterflies and sought by youngsters, Nyoman Sudana said.(*)
