Brunei records 48.7 per cent trade growth in May

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua): Brunei saw its foreign trade hit 2.85 billion Brunei dollars (US$2.03 billion) in May, marking a 48.7 per cent increase year-on-year, official data has showed.

The latest data of international merchandise trade released by the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics under the Ministry of Finance and Economy showed that Brunei's exports increased by 51.9 per cent year-on-year to 1.75 billion Brunei dollars in May mainly due to rising mineral fuel exports.

Mineral fuels accounted for 77.9 percent of Brunei's total exports in May, with a value of 1.36 billion Brunei dollars.

The biggest market in May for Brunei's exports was Australia with a share of 19.8 percent, followed by China and Singapore, according to the official data.

Brunei's imports increased by 43.9 percent year-on-year to 1.10 billion Brunei dollars in May.

The highest share of imports was from Malaysia with 30.4 per cent, followed by Kazakhstan with 14.7 per cent and Saudi Arabia with 13.3 per cent. (1 Brunei dollar equals about 0.71 U.S. dollar) - Xinhua