REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN - India is the highest contributor of foreign exchange for North Sumatera, giving the province a big surplus. According to Statistics Indonesia, export value from North Sumatera to India is worth 1.250 billion USD.

"The export is 13.09 percent out of North Sumatera's total export," the Chairman of Indonesian Employer Association (Apindo) in North Sumatera, Parlindungan Purba, said on Sunday. He mentioned that the surplus reached 1.075 billion USD, while the province imported relatively small from India. 

Most of the export goods to India are palm oil, rubber and spices. "The entrepreneurs see India as potential market due to its increasing population," he said.

Chairman of Indonesian Palm Oil Board (DMSI) Derom Bangun said India and China were the main market of Indonesian crude palm oil (CPO). Their need of CPO is increasing despite global crisis.