BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, June 27 (Xinhua) -- Brunei's trade balance increased by 3.4 percent year-on-year to 395.9 million Brunei dollars (310.1 million U.S. dollars) in April, according to a report from the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (DEPS) of Brunei on Thursday.
According to the DEPS, Brunei's merchandise exports achieved 1,167.1 million Brunei dollars (917.7 million U.S. dollars) in April. Mineral fuels accounted for the highest share of total exports at 74.6 percent, followed by chemicals at 23.2 percent, and machinery and transport equipment at 0.7 percent.
Brunei's total trade for April 2025 was 1,938.3 million Brunei dollars (1,524.1 million U.S. dollars), which saw a year-on-year decrease of 18 percent from 2,365 million Brunei dollars (1,852.4 million U.S. dollars) in April 2024, said the report.
Meanwhile, on a month-on-month basis, Brunei's total imports in April recorded an increase of 1.5 percent, mainly attributed to the increase in the import value of most commodity sections. The highest share of imports in April came from Russia, accounting for 26.9 percent, followed by Malaysia at 16.9 percent and Norway at 14.6 percent.
Brunei is situated in the northern part of Borneo Island in Southeast Asia and is abundant in oil and natural gas resources. In recent years, the government has made efforts to diversify the economy and reduce its strong dependence on the oil and gas sector. ■
