Arab News, Saturday, May 20, 2023 | Shawwal 30, 1444
Saudi trade balance surplus surges to $12bn in February
Saudi Arabia:
Saudi Arabia’s balance of trade witnessed its first increase in nine months as
it grew by SR6 billion ($1.6 billion) in February 2023 compared to a month
earlier.
The trade balance surplus surged 16.6 percent,
reaching SR44.5 billion from SR38.2 billion in January, data released by the
General Authority for Statistics revealed.
Ever since a SR8.2 billion increase last May, the
Kingdom’s surplus has been shrinking by an average of SR6.4 billion a month,
showed the data.
The surge in February was primarily caused by the
large drop in merchandise imports, which fell by 16.3 percent, or SR11.1
billion, from the month prior to reach SR56.6 billion.
Saudi Arabia’s merchandise exports also tumbled by
4.5 percent in February, falling by SR4.7 billion to reach 101.1 billion, showed
the GASTAT data.
On a year-on-year basis, the Kingdom’s non-oil
exports, including re-exports, decreased by 16.4 percent to SR20.9 billion in
February compared to the same month in 2022.
In its report, GASTAT noted that the Kingdom’s
non-oil exports were pulled down by a 20.6 percent drop in chemical and allied
industries, accounting for 33.2 percent of non-oil merchandise exports in
February.
The report further pointed out that overall
merchandise exports fell by 12.7 percent in February to SR101.1 billion, down
from SR115.8 billion the year prior. This was driven by a 11.7 percent drop in
the Kingdom’s oil exports to reach SR80.2 billion in February.
Saudi Arabia’s merchandise imports increased by
15.2 percent in February to SR56.6 billion compared to SR49.1 billion in the
same period last year.
The report added that the most imported
merchandise in February was machinery, mechanical appliances, and electrical
equipment parts, which accounted for 20.8 percent of the total merchandise
imports.
As imports rose by 15.2 percent and non-oil
exports fell 16.4 percent year-on-year, the ratio of non-oil exports to imports
dropped by 13.9 percent in that period to reach 37 percent.
China sustained its position as the top global
export destination for Saudi Arabia that month accounting for 17.4 percent of
total Saudi exports valued at SR17.6 billion.
It was followed by Japan with exports valued at
SR10.2 billion — 10.1 percent of the total — and India at SR9.9 billion, which
was responsible for 9.7 percent, showed the data.
As for the Kingdom’s imports, China also took the
lead, accounting for 23.4 percent of the total, worth SR13.2 billion.
The US followed with SR5.1 billion, or 8.9 percent
of the total. India came in third with SR3.8 billion, or 6.7 percent of the
total imports, showed the report.
Jeddah Islamic Port let through 30 percent of the
total imports worth SR17 billion, making it the Kingdom’s primary port for
incoming goods in February.