RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports surged by 31 percent in the second quarter to SR86.2 billion ($22.9 billion) from SR65.8 billion in the same period last year, the General Authority for Statistics, also known as GASTAT, said in a report.
This is an increase of SR7.6 billion or 9.7 percent from the first quarter of this year.
In the second quarter, the Kingdom’s merchandise imports grew to SR171 billion, registering a year-on-year increase of 21.7 percent. This is an increase of 8.5 percent when compared with the previous quarter.
Overall merchandise exports in the second quarter increased by 85.1 percent to SR429.8 billion, up from SR232.2 billion in the second quarter of 2021.
Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports were driven by chemical and allied industries which accounted for 35.3 percent of non-oil merchandise exports in the second quarter, GASTAT report stated.
The report further added that the most imported merchandises were machinery and mechanical appliances, along with electrical equipment parts which accounted for 18.9 percent of total merchandise imports.
Looking at June’s numbers from GASTAT, the Kingdom’s non-oil exports including re-exports rose by 26.8 percent in June 2022, reaching SR30.1 billion from SR23.7 billion this time last year.
Monthly, non-oil exports saw a SR1.9 billion increase from May 2022, where re-exports and non-oil exports grew by SR1.3 billion and SR642.0 million respectively.
Re-exports showed an outstanding year-on-year performance where they rose by 111.9 percent from June 2021.
Similarly, they exhibited a 30.5 percent growth from May, last month.
According to the report, overall exports went up by 75.2 percent year-on-year in June, from SR84.3 billion to SR147.7 billion, driven by a 94.1 percent surge in oil exports.
Considering trading partners, China is on the top of the list of countries demanding Saudi Arabia's exports— accounting for 14.1 percent of the total.
Japan and India come next in line with a 10.0 percent portion of the kingdom's exports.
Moreover, the share of oil exports grew 7.8 percent year-on-year amounting to 79.7 percent of total exports due to the continued sanctions and embargoes against Russian oil products.
In the transition between May and June 2022, a value of SR3.4 billion was added to the total number of merchandise exports.
Overall imports witnessed a 28.9 percent increase to SR59.9 billion, up from SR46.5 billion in June last year.
On a month-to-month basis, imports also recorded an increase of SR5.3 billion from the previous month.
Most of the Kingdom's imports come from China — a 21.2 percent share of the total.
Additionally, the US and the UAE account for 14.6 percent of total imports, the highest share after Chinese imports, revealed GASTAT.
Overall, the Kingdom’s trade balance soared by SR50.5 billion hitting a 5-year high of SR258.9 billion in the second quarter of 2022, up from SR208.3 billion in the last quarter.
