CHINA IS BIGGEST SUPPLIER OF GOODS TO RI

Jakarta, May 26 (ANTARA) - China was the biggest supplier of non-oil/non-gas commodities to Indonesia in March 2009 with a value of US$1.048 billion, an official said.

The figure accounted for 18.68 percent of Indonesia's non-oil/non-gas imports totaling US$5.611 billion in that month, Head of the Import Statistics Section at the Central Statistics Board (BPS) Dodo Sarwanto said here on Tuesday.

Indonesia's imports from China mainly consisted of machines, mechanical appliances, electrical instruments, and iron and steel goods, he said.

Indonesia also imported ships, cotton and organic chemicals from China, he said.

Japan trailed behind in second place with a value of US$698.3 million, accounting for 12.44 percent of the total, he said.

He said Indonesia's imports from Japan were mainly made up of artificial filament, and iron and steel goods.

Singapore came in third with US$653 million (11.64 percent), followed by the United States US$609.7 million 10.86 percent) and South Korea US$317.7 million (5.66 percent).