The total trade recorded an increase of 13.5 percent from $2,267.5 million in September 2021 to $2,572.8 million in September 2022, contributed by a rise in both export and import value between those periods. The Department of Economic Planning and Statistics, DEPS, Ministry of Finance and Economy in its press release informed that compared to August 2022, total trade fell 7.2 percent due to a fall in exports and imports value, mainly Mineral Fuels.

Total exports increased by 22.6 percent to $1612.2 million in September 2022. This was mainly due to the increase in Mineral Fuels exports in the same period. The increase in Mineral Fuels exports was mainly due to the higher export value of Crude Oil, Liquefied Natural Gas, LNG and Petroleum Products. The increase in Crude Oil export was mainly due to the increase in average price in September 2022. Meanwhile, the increase in exports of LNG was due to a rise in both exports volume and price. For Petroleum Products exports, recorded an increase, in which the main commodity was automotive diesel fuels.

In terms of commodity, Mineral Fuels represents the major contributor to Brunei Darussalam’s exports at 85.1 percent, followed by Chemicals, and Machinery and Transport Equipment. The main exports market in September 2022 was Australia at 22.2 percent, followed by Japan and Singapore. The largest export commodity to Australia, Japan and Singapore was Mineral Fuels. Total value of imports increased to $960.6 million in September 2022, mainly due to a significant increase in imports of Mineral Fuels particularly crude oil as production input for the downstream petrochemical industry.

The five main imports by commodity this month were Mineral Fuels with 69 percent, followed by Machinery and Transport Equipment, Food, Manufactured Goods and Chemicals. The biggest import partner by share was Malaysia, followed by Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, with Mineral Fuels as the largest import commodity. Transport by sea accounted for the highest share for both exports and imports, followed by air transport and via land.

The International Merchandise Trade Statistics report for September 2022 can be obtained through website at JPES di deps.mofe.gov.bn.

Source: Radio Television Brunei