Algeria recorded a trade surplus of USD3.86 billion during the first quarter of 2014 against USD4.83 during the same period a year earlier, said Monday Algerian Customs.
Algeria’s exports reached about USD33.59 billion during the first six months of 2014 against about USD34.14 billion in the same period in 2013, down 1.61%, due mainly to a drop of 2.30% in hydrocarbon exports during this period,  said the Customs’ National Center for Data Processing and Statistics (CNIS).
Algeria’s imports totalled USD29.69 billion during the first half of 2014 against USD29 billion, up 1.32%, said CNIS.
The rate of coverage of imports by exports reached 113% against 116% during the same period, said the source.
The hydrocarbons, which represent Algeria’s main exports with a share of 95.92% of the overall volume of exports, are estimated at USD32.23 billion against USD32.97 billion during the same period in 2013, down 2.30%, said the Algerian Customs.
Non-hydrocarbon exports remain weak with 4.08% of the overall volume of exports,  for a value of USD1.37 billion, according to CNIS.