Riau Posts US9,79 Billion In Foreign Trade Surplus

Pekanbaru, Riau,(Antarariau.com) - The province of Riau recorded a surplus of US$9.79 billion in foreign trade in the first eight months of the year, The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) said.

The province recorded surplus both in oil and gas as well as in trade of commodities other than oil and gas, head of the Riau branch of BPS, Aden Gultom, said here on Friday.

Non-oil/gas commodities accounted for US$8.05 billion of the surplus with oil and gas accounting for US$1.74 billion.

In August alone , Riau recorded a surplus of US$1.33 billion.

The province exported US$10.56 billion worth of goods in the first eight months of the year or an increase of 4.89 percent from the same period last year.

Its exports of commodities other than oil and gas were valued at US$8.95 billion in the January-August period in 2018 or an increase of 0.94 percent year-on-year.

In August its exports were valued at US$1.48 billion , up 4.42 percent year-on-year. Commodities other than oil and gas accounted for US$1.19 billion of the export value in August.

Riau contributed 9.34 percent to the country's total exports, Aden said.

Meanwhile Riau's imports were valued only at US$144.05 million in August , up 15.23 percent from July 2018.

In the first 8 months of the year, its imports were valued at US$1.08 billion , up 26.75 percent from the same period in 2017.