Saudi non-oil exports jump 15% to $5.06bln in May

Saudi non-oil exports jump 15% to $5.06bln in May

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s export of non-oil products recorded an increase of 14.85 percent, reaching SR18.85 billion in May this year compared to April. China emerged as the top exporter and importer of Saudi products during the period.

According to a monitoring of Okaz/Saudi Gazette, based on government reports, there has been an increase amounting to SR2.44 billion in the export of non-oil goods in May compared to the previous month. The non-oil exports made up about 19.4 percent of the total exports.

The monitoring showed that exports of mineral products accounted for 74.62 percent of total exports at a value of SR72.48 billion. As for chemical industry products, they accounted for 7.39 percent of exports, amounting to SR7.18 billion. Export of plastic and their products, rubber and its products accounted for 6.73 percent of exports, with a value of SR6.54 billion.

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) revealed that Saudi Arabia achieved a surplus in its trade balance for the 36th month in a row, and the value of the surplus amounted to about SR29.46 billion and the volume of foreign trade amounted to SR164.81 billion in the month of May.

With regard to imports, they recorded an increase of 20.9 percent in