Brunei Balance of Trade

Last Release

Mar 31, 2025

Actual

495

Units In

BND Million

516.9

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

N/A

Time to Release

N/A

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
2,971.45 Sep 2008	-513.5 Jun 2021	702.65 BND Million	2005-2025	N/A

As an oil producer, Brunei has been able to run consistent trade surpluses despite having to import most of what it consumes. Oil and natural gas account for almost 90 percent of Brunei’s exports. Other exports include machinery and transport equipment and chemicals. Brunei mainly imports machinery and transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, fuels and lubricants, chemical products, and miscellaneous manufactured articles. Brunei’s main trading partners are Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, India, China, Australia, the United States and Thailand.

Latest Updates

Brunei’s trade surplus decreased to BND 495.0 million in March 2025 from BND 546.4 million in the same month a year earlier, as imports declined more sharply than exports amid headwinds from rising trade barriers. Imports fell 11.2% year-on-year to BND 760.0 million, driven by lower purchases of mineral fuels (-9.3%), chemicals (-28.9%), and machinery and transport equipment (-21.9%). The main sources of imports were Malaysia (27.3% of total imports), followed by Russia (14.4%), Nigeria (14.0%), and Papua New Guinea (9.0%). Meanwhile, exports dropped 10.5% to BND 1,255 million, pressured by declines in mineral fuels (-10.5%), chemicals (-10.0%), manufactured goods (-28.6%), and machinery and transport equipment (-22.5%). The top export destinations were China (20.0%), Australia (15.4%), Japan (14.2%), and Thailand (12.5%). For the first quarter of 2025, the trade surplus narrowed to BND 1.48 billion from BND 1.70 billion in the same period of 2024.