RIYADH: Qatar recorded a trade surplus of 22 billion Qatari riyals ($6 billion) in April 2023, according to a report released by the country’s Planning and Statistics Authority.
The data reflects a 3.5 percent increase over March while a 35.6 percent decline on an annual basis.
The value of merchandise imports during April 2023 also fell 6.3 percent from the previous year and 9.3 percent from the last month to reach an estimated 8.7 billion riyals.
Meanwhile, the value of Qatar’s exports of oil, gas, and condensate tumbled in April to 18.6 billion riyals, reflecting a decrease of 33.2 percent on an annual basis.
The report showed that China and South Korea accounted for over a third of Qatar’s exports in April.
China topped the exports with 5.6 billion riyals, accounting for 18.3 percent of the total value.
South Korea, on the other hand, came second with 5.1 billion riyals, representing 16.6 percent of the whole pie.
Real estate market
Meanwhile, the Gulf nation reported 343 million riyals worth of transactions in the residential real estate sector from May 14-18.
Sales operations were concentrated in Doha, Al-Rayyan, Al-Daayen, Al-Wakra, Umm Salal, Al-Khor, Al-Thakhira, and Al-Shamal.
Qatar and other Gulf countries are seeing significant growth in non-oil activities as the region diversifies its economy away from oil.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani stated his country’s non-oil sector grew by 9.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022, and oil activities also saw a 4.8 percent rise.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum, Al-Thani stated that the efforts of the gas-rich Gulf state have led to the development of robust financial institutions and the establishment of a work environment that stimulates business growth.
These initiatives have resulted in a considerable increase in both domestic and foreign investments.
