Cuban exports were up 11 percent during the first quarter of 2012, compared with the same period in 2011, due mostly to increased income from tourism and health care services, state media reported on.

The increase follows a 20 percent rise in exports in 2011, the report said, quoting Vivian Herrera, director of exports at the Foreign Trade Ministry.

The numbers appear to be good news for President Raul Castro and his efforts to bolster Cuba's debt-ridden economy by increasing export income and decreasing imports. Cuba's exports totaled $14.2 billion in 2010, according to the last official statistics available. According to preliminary figures, Cuba's exports rose 11 percent compared to 2011, 15 percent of which was goods and the remainder services.