The surplus in merchandise trade surged 51.3 percent in calendar 2002 from a year earlier to 9.93 trillion yen, the first rise in four years, due to a sharp increase in exports to the rest of Asia, the Finance Ministry said Monday in a preliminary report.
The customs-cleared trade surplus for 2002 -- exports minus imports -- saw the largest percentage of growth since 1984.
The jump was also a result of the slump in the global information technology industry in 2001, ministry officials said.
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