Hungary is expecting record high numbers in international trade for 2016, with January-November already exceeding all of 2015, the Central Statistical Office reported on Monday in a preliminary estimate.

According to the report, the trade surplus for January-November 2016 amounted to 9.45 billion euros (10.5 billion U.S. dollars), which was already higher than the 8.595 billion-euro surplus accounted for all of 2015.

Exports climbed by 2.7 percent in value for January-November 2016, while imports were up by 1.0 percent. In numbers, exports amounted to nearly 86 billion euros (95.6 billion dollars) while imports accounted for 76.5 billion (85.1 billion dollars).

Hungary's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto, while addressing a news conference here, called 2016 a record year in all respects.

He underlined the importance of international trade to Hungary's growth, saying the backbone of Hungary's international economic performance came from the multinationals operating in the country. He added that these companies employed Hungarian workers and gave business to Hungarian SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) which acted as suppliers.

The minister said 71 investment projects had been concluded through the Hungarian Investment Promotion Agency, an all-time high which amounted to 3.25 billion euros in investments and resulted in 17,647 new jobs.

He also pledged continued government support to encourage investors, noting that the corporate tax was now the lowest in the region.

According to the minister, the major investors in Hungary are in the automotive, electronics, and service sectors.