Bali woven handicraft exports up 88%

Bali booked US$2.33 million in woven handicraft exports in the first 11 months of 2011, up almost 90 percent over the same period in 2010, according to an official.

“The value was shown by the number of shipments increasing 105.22 percent to 1.83 million units during the January to November period in 2011, against 893,810 units in the same period in 2010,” Bali administration spokesman I Ketut Teneng said on Monday as quoted by Antara.

Teneng attributed the increase to new designs that appealed to foreign buyers, saying that woven handicrafts had a bright future in Bali and might boost the country's foreign exchange rate.

He added that woven handicraft exports from a low of $1.53 million in 2010.(drs)