The total trade recorded an increase of 41.1 per cent from BND2,024.8 million in November 2021 to BND2,856.8 million in November 2022, contributed by a rise in both export and import value between this period.
Compared to October 2022, total trade grew by 15.3 per cent due to an increase in exports, mainly mineral fuels.
Total exports increased by 31 per cent from BND1,289.4 million in November 2021 to BND1,689.6 million in November 2022. This was mainly due to the increase in mineral fuels exports from BND1,041.2 million to BND1,332.8 million 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 by 18.3 per cent from USD83.91 per barrel in November 2021 to USD99.23 per barrel in November 2022, as well as an increase in total volume to 79.18 thousand barrels per day (November 2022) from 67.63 thousand barrels per day (November 2021).
Meanwhile, the increase in exports of LNG was mainly due to a rise in its exports price by 37.2 per cent from USD10.94 per MMBtu to USD15.00 per MMBtu. Petroleum products exports, recorded an increase from BND467.9 million to BND588.8 million, in which the main commodity was automotive diesel fuels.
In terms of commodity, mineral fuels represented the major contributor to Brunei’s exports at 78.9 per cent, followed by chemicals (18.9 per cent), and machinery and transport equipment (1.1 per cent).
The main exports market in November 2022 was Australia (27.8 per cent), followed by Malaysia (16.2 per cent), and China (15.4 per cent). The largest export commodity to Australia and Malaysia was mineral fuels, whereas to China was chemicals.
The total value of imports increased from BND735.4 million in November 2021 to BND1,167.2 million in November 2022, mainly due to an increase in imports of mineral fuels particularly crude oil as a production input for the downstream petrochemical industry.
The five main imports by commodity for November 2022 were mineral fuels (62.4 per cent), followed by machinery and transport equipment at (19.5 per cent), food (6.1 per cent), chemicals (4.1 per cent), and manufactured goods (3.9 per cent).
The biggest import partner were Malaysia (22.1 per cent), followed by United Arab Emirates (15 per cent) and Qatar (12.1 per cent), with mineral fuels as the largest import commodity.
Most of the country’s imports at 58.1 per cent were used as intermediate goods for processing, followed by capital goods (38.4 per cent) for business operations and consumption goods (3.5 per cent) for household use.
Transport by sea accounted for the highest share for both exports and imports, which amounted to BND2,598.9 million or 91 per cent.
This was followed by air transport (BND226.3 million or 7.9 per cent) and via land (BND31.5 million or 1.1 per cent).
The International Merchandise Trade Statistics report for November 2022 can be accessed through the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics’ (DEPS) website at https://deps.mofe.gov.bn.
