RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has experienced growth in its non-oil exports reaching $7.70 billion in May, a two-year high, with 8.2% increase from May 2023 and a 26.93% increase from April, based on data provided by the General Authority of Statistics (GASTAT). This growth is in line with the Kingdom’s efforts to develop non-oil sectors of the country.
Total merchandise exports also rose by 5.8% from last year and 4.9% in oil shipments. Moreover, from April to May, merchandise exports increased by 3.3%.
The share of oil in total exports fell slightly to 72.4% from 73% of the last year. The non-oil exports including re-exports to imports ratio increased from 39% to 41.1%, mainly because of an 8.2% and 2.6% increase in non-oil exports and imports respectively.
Among the non-oil exports, chemical and allied products are at the top, contributing 23.8% of the total shipments. On a year-on-year basis, imports rose by 2.6% reaching $ 18.72 billion, with machinery and electrical topping at 26.7% of the total imports.
China was Saudi Arabia’s major trading partner with $ 4.24 billion in exports, followed by South Korea with $ 2.75 billion and India with $ 2.16 billion. Other main export partners were the UAE, Japan, Bahrain, the US, Poland, Taiwan, and Malta. China took a major share in imports with 25% of incoming shipments.
King Abdulaziz Sea Port in Dammam was the most used entry point in the kingdom for importing goods worth $4.41 billion, accounting 23.6% of total imports.
