Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus experienced an uptick, registering a growth of 27.47 per cent to reach $11.66 billion (43.73bn riyals) in September, marking the second consecutive monthly increase, according to a report released by the General Authority for Statistics.
In August, the trade surplus stood at 34.31bn riyals, with July and June reporting figures of 21.8bn riyals and 27.21bn riyals, respectively.
Despite a marginal 0.1pc decrease compared to August, Saudi Arabia showed resilience in its trade performance for September, with overall merchandise exports amounting to 103.8bn riyals.
However, there was a year-on-year decline of 17.1pc in overall merchandise exports for September, primarily attributed to a reduction in oil exports. This reduction was in alignment with the decision of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as Opec+, to curtail oil output, aiming to maintain market stability.
The value of oil exports in September experienced a corresponding 17.1pc decline, reaching 83.1bn riyals compared to the same period in the previous year.
Despite this decline, the share of oil exports in the total export portfolio increased slightly from 80pc in September 2022 to 80.1pc in September 2023.
The GASTAT report further noted that non-oil exports, including re-exports, decreased by 17.2pc year on year in September to 20.7bn riyals.
Chemical and allied products were the most imported merchandise in September 2023, constituting 30.3pc of total non-oil exports.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia’s merchandise imports decreased by 2.2pc in September to 60.1bn riyals, compared to the same month of the previous year. Imports also decreased compared to August 2023 by 13.7pc.
In September, China was Saudi Arabia’s primary merchandise trading partner, with exports to the Asian giant amounting to 19bn riyals, or 18.3pc of the total. Japan and South Korea followed closely with 11.4bn riyals and 10.2bn riyals of the total exports, respectively.
India, the US, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, and Poland were also featured in the top 10 destinations for Saudi exports.
On the import side, China held the lead, accounting for 20.5pc or 12.3bn riyals in imports in September 2023. It was followed by the US and the UAE, with imports valued at 5.2bn riyals and 4bn riyals, respectively.
The report added that the Jeddah Islamic Port ranked as the highest entry point for goods into the kingdom in September, with a value of 14.5bn riyals, constituting 24.1pc of the overall imports.
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