Head of foreign trade division of South Kalimantan industrial and trade agency Gusti Yasni Iqbal said in Banjarmasin Tuesday the performance has been predicted to increase further in 2011.
"In the first quarter alone the exports from the province had reached more than 55 pct of the set target of Rp7.3 billion US dollars, and if this development continued next year`s export growth may surpass the target," he said.
Nationally, the export growth has been targeted at 12.5 pct, and in that context he said that his office is optimistic the target will be reached before the end of the third quarter.
While South Kalimantan`s export growth is quite high compared to those in other provinces like Java, Sumatra and some others, South Kalimantan`s exports are still seventh in rank, because industrial growth and technological developments of industry in South Kalimantan were still far lagging behind those of Java island and others.
In the meantime, he added, the support of infrastructure both roads and ports had also been not so intensive and therefore hampering industrial growth as a while.
In 2010, South Kalimantan`s exports reached 6.5 billion US dollars , up 26.5 pct compared to that in 2009 with only 4 billion US dollars.
In 2011, he added, South Kalimantan`s exports had been targeted at least 7.3 billion US dollars, and predicted even to reach 8 billion US dollars.
This is true, he said, as up to June 2011 South Kalimantan`s exports had reached 4.5 billion US dollars, up 55 pct compared to last year`s same period with 2.9 billion US dollars.
An encouraging development, Iqbal said, is the fact that the exports not only because of the increased export volume, but due to an increase in the prices of export commodities, both plantations and mining, from South Kalimantan.
Last year, in the January-June period, exports from South Kalimantan reached 48 million tons and this year in the same period it reached only 52.4 million tons, up 9.18 pct.
"This is far compared to the increase in the export value of 55 pct," he said.
(H-NG)(H-YH)
(T.SYS/A/H-NG/B/H-YH) 12-08-2011 00:41:34
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
