BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Brunei recorded 659.4 million Brunei dollars (494.2 million U.S. dollars) in trade surplus for December 2022, a 37.2-percent increase contributed by a rise in export and a drop in import.

The latest statistics showed that Brunei's exports in December increased 4.5 percent year-on-year to 1,564.0 million Brunei dollars, which was mainly due to the rise in export of liquefied natural gas and other petroleum and gas products.

Imports decreased by 11 percent yearly to 904.6 million Brunei dollars in December 2022. Mineral fuels recorded the highest share of total imports with 63.6 percent.

The highest share of exports in December 2022 went to Japan (30.0 percent), followed by Australia (22.3 percent) and Singapore (13.6 percent).

The biggest import partner was Malaysia (22.7 percent), followed by China (17.3 percent) and the United Arab Emirates (14.5 percent). (1 Brunei dollar equals 0.75 U.S. dollars).