Brunei Trade Surplus Falls to Near 2-Year Low

2025-07-28 03:45 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

Brunei’s trade surplus dropped to BND 252.3 million in May 2025 from BND 404.5 million in the same month a year earlier.

It was the lowest trade surplus since a deficit in June 2023, as exports shrank more than imports amid rising global trade barriers.

Exports plunged 27.7% yoy to an 11-month low of BND 1,027.9 million, dragged by lower shipments of mineral fuels (-33.8%), chemicals (-9.9%), and machinery and transport equipment (-5.5%).

Key export destinations included China (19.4% of total exports), Australia (17.1%), South Korea (10.9%), Taiwan (9.6%), and Singapore (7.7%).

Meanwhile, imports dropped 23.7% to BND 775.6 million, mainly due to weaker demand for mineral fuels (-30.4%), manufactured goods (-13.1%), and machinery and transport equipment (-10.5%).

Malaysia remained the top import source (39.6%), followed by Russia (24.3%), China (6.8%), Australia (4.9%), and Vietnam (4.1%).

For January–May, the trade surplus fell to BND 2.12 billion from BND 2.49 billion a year earlier.



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