13 Feb 2013 18:23

Kazakhstan's trade surplus narrows 4.5% in 2012

ASTANA. Feb 13 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's foreign trade surplus amounted to $47.8 billion, down 4.5% from 2011, said the State Statistics Agency.

The country's total foreign trade volume in 2012 rose 9.8% to $136.8 billion, including exports worth $92.3 billion (up 5.3%) and imports worth $44.5 billion (up 20.2%).

Exports to the Customs Union countries stood in the reporting period at $6.837 billion (down 3.7%), imports at $17.788 billion (up 11.7%).

The main buyers of Kazakh goods in the reporting period were China (17.9% of all exports), Italy (16.8%), and the Netherlands (8.1%).

The main exporters to Kazakhstan in the reporting period were Russia, which accounted for 38.4% of all Kazakhstan's imports, China (16.8%) and Ukraine (6.6%).