The total trade recorded a year-on-year decrease of 39.9 per cent in March 2023 compared to March last year. The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, Ministry of Finance and Economy in media release stated the decrease was due to a drop in both exports value by 39.7 per cent, and imports value by 40.3 per cent, mainly Mineral Fuels.
The decrease in Mineral Fuels exports was mainly driven by the export values of Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG and Other Petroleum Products, particularly automotive diesel fuels. LNG export value declined following a drop in export volume by 13 per cent. However, this was offset by an increase in the exports value of Crude Oil, due to rising exports volume by 100.7 per cent.
In terms of export commodities, Mineral Fuels represented the major contributor to Brunei Darussalam's exports at 84.8 per cent, followed by Chemicals, and Machinery and Transport Equipment. The five main imports by commodity for March 2023 were Chemicals, followed by Machinery and Transport Equipment, Food, Manufactured Goods, and Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles.
The main export markets in March 2023 were Singapore, followed by Japan and Australia, and the largest export commodity was Mineral Fuels. Meanwhile, the biggest import partner were Belgium, followed by Malaysia and Singapore, with Chemicals as the largest import commodity.
The International Merchandise Trade Statistics report for March 2023 is available at 'deps.gov.bn'.
Source: Radio Television Brunei