RI sees trade deficit of $5.3 bln with China

Jakarta, Dec 2 (ANTARA) - Indonesia saw a trade deficit of US$5.3 billion with China in the first ten months of 2010, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said.

In October 2010 alone, the deficit reached US$415.7 million, BPS Chief Rusman Heriawan said on Wednesday.

Separately, on Wednesday, Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said the deficit was mainly caused by a decline in the oil and gas trade surplus.

"Our export of oil and gas commodities to China declined while at the same our import of oil and gas products such as lubricant increased," she said.

The oil and gas trade surplus in the January-September 2010 period plunged 85 percent from the same period last year, she said.

Compared to 2008 before the global financial crisis, the non-oil/non-gas trade deficit with China fell US$4.9 billion in the first nine months of 2010, she said.

Almost 90 percent of the trade deficit in the January-October 2010 period was caused by an increase in the import of raw materials and capital goods which reached US$2.9 billion and US$1.2 billion respectively compared to the same period last year, she said.

The BPS said Indonesia also still suffered trade deficit with a number of countries including Singapore, Thailand and Australia.

"And also this month (October 2010) we for the first time recorded a trade deficit of US$19.5 million with South Korea. We do not know exactly the cause of the deficit," Rusman said. (ANTARA)