Brunei Trade Surplus Narrows in July
2026-09-29 08:13
By
Farida Husna
1 min. read
Brunei’s trade surplus dropped to BND 454.1 million in July 2026 from BND 576.7 million in the same month a year earlier, as imports rose much faster than exports.
Year-on-year, imports surged 75.6% to BND 1.16 billion, driven by sharp rises in mineral fuel purchases (118.1%), manufactured goods (139.3%), chemicals (88.8%), and food (88.5%).
Malaysia was the top source of imports, supplying 70.0% of total inbound shipments, ahead of China (6.6%), Nigeria (5.2%), Vietnam (3.7%), and Thailand (2.3%).
Meanwhile, exports rose by 30.5% to BND 1.61 billion, largely lifted by strong gains in mineral fuels (42.9%).
Australia was the largest export destination, accounting for 37.4% of total shipments, followed by Singapore (14.6%), China (12.5%), and Japan (12.2%).
Still, for the first seven months of 2026, Brunei posted a trade surplus of BND 4.23 billion, up sharply from BND 2.99 billion in the same period last year, as exports expanded 32.8% while imports increased more slowly by 27.5%.