REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MEDAN - North Sumatra saw its trade with the United States grow by 27.34 percent to 705.682 million USD till the third quarter of 2014 from 554.186 million USD in the same period last year.

Till September 30 this year, the province recorded a surplus of 504.111 million USD as its imports from the US were valued at 201.507 million USD, Secretary of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI), Sofyan Subang, said here on Saturday.

North Sumatra's exports to the US included crude palm oil and its derivatives, rubber, coffee, cocoa, shrimp, and furniture, while its imports from the US included soybean and fruits.

The Secretary of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Rubber Producers Association (Gapkindo), Edy Irwansyah, stated that the US was the main buyer of rubber produced in North Sumatra, besides Japan and China. The United States still imported large quantities of rubber from North Sumatra, despite low demand in the country due to global crisis, he noted.

Irwansyah also predicted that the demand for rubber in the US and other industrialized nations would steadily increase as demand for tires and rubber products were on the rise.