BUJUMBURA (Reuters) - Burundi’s trade deficit narrowed to $325.7 million in the first half of 2014 from $389.1 million in the same period a year ago as the local currency strengthened against the dollar, the central bank said on Friday. An imbalance between imports and exports has hampered economic growth in the small east African nation of nearly 10 million people, where coffee and tea production accounts for 85 percent of total export revenues. For the six months to the end of June, Burundi’s franc gained 1.7 percent in value against the dollar compared with January and June 2013, central bank figures showed. Export revenues increased by 10.6 percent to $40.5 million and import costs fell 14 percent to $366.2 million. The International Monetary Fund projects Burundi’s economy could expand 4.7 percent this year from 4.5 percent in 2013. Economists have urged the landlocked country to diversify its export crops, attract foreign investors and promote tourism in order to see its annual economic growth exceeding 5 percent.