Export revenues increased by 57.6% in 2017

The increase was announced on Tuesday while BNR was presenting the Monetary Policy and Financial Stability Statement.

According to BNR Governor, John Rwangombwa, the increase in exports value is attributable to good performance in all the main categories of exports.

“Non-traditional exports grew by 136.6 percent, traditional exports by 29.6 percent and re-exports by 30.3 percent,” he said.

Traditional exports which are composed with coffee, tea, minerals, pyrethrum as well as hides and skins grew by 29.6 percent amounting USD284.0 million in 2017 from USD219.1million in 2016.

Non-traditional exports which are dominated by other minerals, products of milling industry and other manufactured products increased by 138.9 percent amounting to USD371.0 million in 2017 from USD155.27 million in 2016.

According to BNR, Rwanda’s formal trade deficit reduced by 21.7% in 2017 compared to 2016, from USD1,624.5 million to USD1271.8 million. The improvement was due to the resurgence in international commodity prices which started in the fourth quarter of 2016 and the increase in the volumes of some non-traditional exports such as products of milling industry, other minerals, cement, textiles as well as iron and steel

BNR says that the recovery in commodity prices boosted formal exports receipts by 57.6% while formal imports value recorded a modest increase of 0.4% in 2017 compared to 2016.

National economic performance shows that the economy grew by 4.6% in the first three quarters of 2017 from 7.3% recorded in the corresponding period of the previous year.