MANAGUA – Goods exported from Nicaragua grossed more than $1.39 billion in the first 10 months of the year, speeding past the $1.24 billion year-end total for 2007, the Center for Export Processing said.

Last year's exports were the highest in three decades.

By October this year, sales of goods abroad grew 32.3 percent over the same period in 2007.

By the end of the first semester, imports reach $1.96 billion, the bulk of which owes to Nicaragua's external oil dependency. The exports authority did not divulge the latest imports figures.

Coffee and beef continued to top the list of exports, bringing in $260 million and $183 million, respectively, in the first 10 months of the year.