RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s merchandise imports decreased 16.1 percent to SR57.9 billion ($15.4 billion) in April 2023 compared to SR69 billion in the previous month, according to the latest data released by the General Authority for Statistics.
However, it increased by 1 percent in April 2023 compared to SR57.3 million in April 2022.
According to the GASTAT report, overall merchandise exports decreased 25.2 percent to SR103 billion in April 2023 compared to SR137.7 billion in the same month last year.
It declined 4.2 percent from SR107.5 billion in March 2023.
The fall was driven by oil exports which dipped 23.6 percent to SR83.8 billion in April 2023 from SR109.7 billion in the same month last year.
Earlier this month, data released by the Joint Organizations Data Initiative showed that the Kingdom’s crude oil exports fell to a five-month low in April 2023.
It slumped 2.6 percent to 7.31 million barrels per day in April 2023 compared to 7.51 million bpd in the previous month.
GASTAT further reported that non-oil exports, including re-exports, decreased 31.2 percent year on year to SR19.2 billion in April 2023.
The non-oil goods that were most exported included chemicals and allied products, which constituted 34.6 percent of the outbound trade.
China remained Saudi Arabia’s most active trading partner in April 2023, buying goods worth SR18 billion or 17.5 percent of the Kingdom’s overall exports.
Exports to Japan and South Korea in April 2023 were worth SR11.2 billion and SR9.9 billion, respectively.
“India, the US, the UAE, Poland, Bahrain, Taiwan and Singapore were the other countries that ranked in the top 10 destinations,” said GASTAT in the report.
On the other hand, imports from China to the Kingdom amounted to SR11.3 billion or 19.5 percent of the total imports in April 2023.
The report added that imports from the US and India were worth SR5 billion and SR3.4 billion, respectively.
The UAE, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Greece, Switzerland and Italy were the other countries that ranked in the top 10 for imports.
The Kingdom’s imports from these countries amounted to SR36.5 billion or 63 percent of the total imports.
Meanwhile, Jeddah Islamic Port offloaded the maximum goods in April, amounting to SR17 billion or 29.3 percent of the total imports.
