"Singapore is the main market for our export commodities because it lies close to Riau Islands," House of Representatives (DPR) member Harry Azhar Azis said here on Saturday.
The other main market for Riau Islands` exports were Japan and the United States, he said without elaborating on the value of the province`s exports to the two countries.
Meanwhile, Riau Islands` imports from Singapore accounted for 62.32 percent of its overall imports which reached an average of US$19.7 billion a year, he said.
Malaysia and China were respectively listed as the second and third biggest suppliers of imported goods to Riau Islands, he said.
Quoting data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Harry said the province`s exports grew by 10.95 percent per year.
"The rupiah`s stable exchange rate has boosted Riau Islands` exports," he said.
He said Riau Islands` imports had continued to increase since the government declared the province`s Batam, Bintan and Karimun islands a free-trade zone in 2008.
Riau Islands` imports jumped to US$12.17 billion in 2008 from US$1.97 billion in 2007, while its exports rose to US$7.47 billion in 2008 from US$6.49 billion in 2007, he said.
"In 2008 we recorded a trade deficit of US$4.7 billion," he said.
(SYS/S012)
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
