Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus reaches $10bn in June, increasing from May slump - Trade Finance Global

Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus reaches $10bn in June, increasing from May slump

By Brian Canup

Brian Canup is a former Editorial & Research Assistant at Trade Finance Global (TFG). He graduated with an MA in International Political Economy from King's College London, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Last updated on 03 Aug 2024

25 Aug 2023 2 min reading time

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In June 2023, Saudi Arabia’s trade balance achieved a surplus of approximately SAR 38 billion (around $10 billion), as reported by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

The nation’s trade surplus was narrowed to SAR 29.5 billion in May 2023, marking a two-year low. This was a result of the decrease in oil exports following a voluntary oil output cut by 500,000 barrels per day.

Between June and May, the trade balance rose by 29% on a monthly basis, owing to a 26% decrease in imports compared to May.

In its monthly report, the authority noted that the Kingdom’s merchandise exports declined by 39.7% annually in June, equating to SAR 88.8 billion, while imports dropped 17.1%, reaching SAR 51.4 billion.

Non-oil exports (including re-exports) experienced a 45% year-on-year change in June, totalling SAR 16.9 billion as opposed to 30.7 billion. Concurrently, non-oil exports, excluding re-exports, saw a 46.1% decline.

During the same period, re-exports fell by 39.8%.

Compared to May 2023, the value of non-oil exports (including re-exports) decreased by SAR 9.9 billion, or 36.8%.

GASTAT also highlighted that oil exports fell by 38.3% on an annual basis in June, achieving SAR 71.9 billion as against 116 billion in June 2022.

Nevertheless, the proportion of oil exports in the overall exports grew to 81% from 79.1 % in June 2022.

China continues to be the Kingdom’s primary partner in merchandise trade, with exports to China amounting to SAR 13.7 billion, which constitutes 15.5% of total exports in June. This was followed by South Korea and India, with SAR 8.1 billion and SAR 7.7 billion, or 9.2% and 8.7% of total exports, respectively.

Japan, the US, the UAE, Egypt, Malaysia, France, and Singapore were also among the top 10 destinations for Saudi exports. The exports to these ten countries were valued at SAR 58.5 billion, representing 66% of the total exports.

On the import side, China remained at the forefront, making up 19.5%, or SAR 10 billion, of imports in June 2023. Following were the US and the UAE, with imports worth SAR 4.3 billion and SAR 3.6 billion, respectively.

Other top countries for imports included India, Germany, Egypt, Switzerland, Singapore, Italy, and Russia. Imports from these ten countries totalled SAR 31 billion, accounting for 60.3% of overall imports.