Tonga's Foreign Reserve increased by $1.1million to $240.3 million in April, which is equivalent to nine months of imports of goods.

The National Reserve Bank of Tonga NRBT, reported that the $1.1 million increase was due mainly to the receipt of official foreign aid during the month.

The April 2012 figure was a significant increase by $80.2 million, compared with the National Foreign Reserve of $160.1 million on April 2011.

Meanwhile, the latest Trade Statistics available from the Statistics Department showed that during the third quarter of 2011, July/Sept import went up by $5 million, from $77.4 million during the second quarter to $82.5 million in the third quarter. During the same period of time export drop from $6.9 million in the second quarter to $4.7 million in the third quarter.