Saudi merchandise exports surge by $1bln in March

Saudi merchandise exports surge by $1bln in March

RIYADH — The value of Saudi Arabia's merchandise exports has recorded a surge of SR4.4 billion, or 4.4%, in March compared to February 2023, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said in its International Trade Report for March 2023.

Compared to the previous year, merchandise exports witnessed a decrease of 25.3% this March to SR106.1 billion from SR142.0 billion in March 2022.

The decrease mainly comes as a result of the fall in oil exports by SR30.0 billion, or 26.5%, to SR83.1 billion, compared to SR113.1 billion in March 2022.

The percentage of oil exports has also recorded a drop from the total exports, from 79.6% in March 2022 to 78.3% in March 2023.

Non-oil exports (including re-exports) witnessed a decrease of 20.6% from March 2022 to SR23.0 billion, compared to SR28.9 billion in March 2022.

Non-oil exports (excluding re-exports) decreased 28.7%, while re-exports increased by 26.8% in the same period. The value of the non-oil exports (including re-exports) increased by SR1.5 billion, or 7.2%, compared to February 2023.

As for imports, GASTAT said it witnessed an increase in March 2023 of SR5.5 billion, or %9.8, as its value amounted to SR61.8 billion in March of the current year, compared to SR56.3 billion in the same