RIYADH: The trade volume between Saudi Arabia and the US reached SR92.5 billion ($24.7 billion) in 2021, an increase of 22 percent from 2020, as non-oil exports from the Kingdom to the US witnessed a record high, a report showed.
This increase in volume reflects a strong rebound in the trade relationship between the two countries after the pandemic lows in 2020, a report by the US-Saudi Business Council said.
Total Saudi exports jumped to SR50.7 billion in 2021 compared to SR33.7 billion in the previous year.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports surged in 2021
The Saudi non-oil exports to the US increased by 72 percent to SR9.1 billion, marking the highest annual level of non-oil exports ever in history.
Fertilizers were the top Saudi non-oil export to the US, accounting for SR2.6 billion or 29 percent of non-oil exports, while exports of urea, a common nitrogen fertilizer, doubled over the past decade, growing from SR375 million to SR750 million.
Oil exports to the US rose 46 percent from SR28.5 billion to SR41.6 billion, with the organic chemicals being the second-largest non-oil export to the US in 2021, accounting for SR1.9 billion or 21 percent of the non-oil total.
Saudi exports of organic chemicals to the US grew 108 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year.
The growth of metal and mining exports from the Kingdom continued in 2021 as aluminum bounced back from a small dip in 2020 to set another record high, according to the report.
Saudi exports of aluminum to the US increased by 24 percent compared to the previous year, reaching SR1.3 billion, thus becoming the third largest Saudi non-oil export to the US.
Motor vehicles: The largest US export to Saudi Arabia
Meanwhile, US exports to Saudi Arabia rose 0.3 percent from the year 2020, at SR41.8 billion, including electrical, mechanical, industrial, agricultural, and pharmaceutical goods.
Motor vehicles were the largest US export to Saudi Arabia in 2021, totaling SR7.1 billion.
Approximately 75 percent of motor vehicle exports to Saudi Arabia were consumer vehicles while the remaining 25 percent comprised motorized military vehicles, tractors, trailers, and other related parts.
US vehicle exports to Saudi Arabia increased 16 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year.
The second-largest export category consisting of boilers, machinery, and parts, represented 12 percent of US goods exported to the Kingdom in 2021, reaching SR5.2 billion.
The third-largest export segment consisted of aircraft and parts, which totaled SR5 billion. Civilian-related aircraft goods declined 67 percent while the value of helicopter exports rose 78 percent.
Texas became the top US state trading with Saudi Arabia, exporting SR7.2 billion in merchandise, followed by Maryland, which grew by 69 percent compared to the previous year with a total value of SR4.1 billion, and California, which exported a total of SR2.5 billion.
Exports to Saudi Arabia between these three states combined supported an estimated 17,721 US jobs in 2021, the report showed.
Louisiana was the top US importer of non-oil goods from Saudi Arabia in 2021 with a total value of SR1.9 billion in fertilizers imports.
Indiana was the second-largest importer of non-oil Saudi goods in 2021 with a value of SR993 million, 97 percent of which were aluminum products.
Texas imported SR17.8 billion in goods from the Kingdom with 95 percent being crude oil, but remained the third-largest importer of non-oil goods, accounting for SR922 million.
