Denpasar (Antara Bali) - Bali's foreign trade of goods, handicrafts and non-oil and gas to China including Hong Kong in early 2010 was a deficit about 1 million US dollars.
The head of Bank Indonesia Denpasar chapter Jeffrey Kairupan said in the Bali regional economic report on Monday that the purchase of goods from China reached 18.4 million US dollars in the January-May 2010 period.
Meanwhile, foreign trade in a variety of crafts and non-oil and gas items from Bali especially to China and Hong Kong in the same period reached only 17.1 million dollars.
This means that Bali imports from China in consumer goods and and raw materials of various small industrial products and other handicrafts reached 1.3 million dollars compared to Bali's exports within five years early in 2010.
Balinese entrepreneurs purchased raw materials including clothing material and woven apparel will be re-exported to the USA, Europe and some other countries such as Australia.
He said that the foreign trade of a variety of non-oil gas items from Bali to China and Hong Kong actually increased by 3.5 million US dollars per month.
China is one of Bali's competitors in the potential export market but the potential of the non-oil and gas commodity exports such as handicrafts by the Balinese people are high.
Bali besides trading in handicraft items to China and Hong Kong, also dealt in fruits, coffee, and fish.
With regard to the entrepreneurs as well as exporters of various Bali handicrafts, Made Sudana SE in Denpasar hoped that the local entrepreneurs could earn more foreign exchange, the government needs to improve its economic relations with China. (*)
