Turkmenistan’s total trade turnover exceeded $6.9 billion in January-October 2005, up 17.3 percent year on year, turkmenistan.ru reported, citing the National Institute of Statistics and Information (Turkmenmillikhasabat). Exports totaled more than $4 billion, almost 26 percent higher than the year-earlier period, while imports accounted for $2.8 billion, up 7.2 percent, bringing Ashgabat’s trade surplus to $1.2 billion, a twofold increase over the same period in 2004. Total trade with non-CIS countries accounted for $4.1 billion, 15 percent higher year on year. Turkmenistan’s trade surplus with those countries stood at $281 million. Natural gas accounted for a little over 45 percent of Turkmenistan’s total exports for the reported period. (www.turkmenistan.ru, December 15)