The exports volume index in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2023 rose by 11.3 per cent mainly due to mineral fuels and chemicals compared to the year before, said the Department of Economic Planning and Statistics (JPES) in a report yesterday.
However, the export unit value index saw a drop of 16 per cent over the same period, resulting a decline in exports value from BND4,537.1 million to BND4,457.4 million, according to the department’s International Merchandise Trade Index (IMTI) report.
The decrease in exports unit value index was mainly driven by manufactured goods (28.4 per cent), mineral fuels (16.5 per cent) and crude materials (inedible) (8.5 per cent).
Meanwhile, the department said the imports unit value index recorded a decrease of 5.5 per cent compared to the previous year, resulting in a fall in imports value from BND3,237.2 million to BND2,972.7 million.
This was contributed by a decrease in mineral fuels (10.3 per cent), chemicals (9.9 per cent) and machinery and transport equipment (8.2 per cent).
The imports volume index in Q4 2023 rose by 4.1 per cent due to an increase of machinery and transport equipment (13.3 per cent), manufactured goods (13.2 per cent) and chemicals (11.8 per cent).
For 2023, total exports value decreased due to a fall in both export unit value index (22.1 per cent) and exports volume index (2.8 per cent).
The decrease in exports volume was contributed by food, manufactured goods, and mineral fuels.
The decrease in total imports value was due to a decrease in unit value index (8.6 per cent) while imports volume index rose (0.1 per cent).
The index measures the changes of unit value and volume of import and export commodities in Brunei Darussalam within a specific period.
The full report of IMTI Q4 2023 and Annual 2023 is available at https://deps.mofe.gov.bn.
