Riyadh – Mubasher: Trade balance surplus between Saudi Arabia and Japan increased by 1.8% year-on-year in March, according to data released by Japan’s Ministry of Finance.

The value of trade surplus between the two Asian nations amounted to SAR 7.75 billion ($2.07 billion) in March, up from SAR 7.61 billion ($2.03 billion) in the same month a year earlier, the ministry added.

The kingdom’s exports to its Asian partner amounted to SAR 9.57 billion last month, compared to SAR 9.32 billion in the year-ago period, while the East Asian country’s exports to Saudi Arabia hit SAR 1.83 billion, up from SAR 1.71 billion .

Since February 2011, the Saudi Arabian Oil Co, known internationally as Saudi Aramco, has been storing its crude in the Japanese island of Okinawa, using these inventories to provide China, Japan, South Korea, and other countries with oil.

In return for the free storage capacity, the Japanese government has priority in drawing from the crude reserves in case of emergency.

It also considers these reserves as quasi-governmental reserves, half of which are counted as national strategic crude reserves.