Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports down 9% in January

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports declined to SAR 15.6 billion in January this year, a nine percent decline year-on-year, according to preliminary data released by the kingdom’s Central Department of Statistics and Information.

Since last September, non-oil exports have maintained a five-month decline.

The drop was mainly driven by a SAR 985 million decline in Saudi’s plastic and rubber exports, in addition to a SAR 698 million decline in exports of chemical industry products.

Metal exports, however, increased by SAR 270 million.

The following table illustrates the kingdom’s non-oil exports in January, compared to the same month last year.

 

Saudi Non-Oil Commodity Exports by Sector (SAR mln)
Change value	Change ratio	Jan. 2015	2014	Product
(985)	(17%)	4,956	5,941	Plastics, rubber products
(698)	(13%)	4,865	5,563	Chemical industry products
+48	+3%	1,739	1,691	Transport equipment
+270	+28%	1,231	961	Ordinary metals
+34	+5%	725	691	Machinery, equipment, appliances
(233)	(10%)	2,119	2,352	Others
(1,564)	(9%)	15,635	17,199	Total

 

The United Arab Emirates was the highest importer from Saudi Arabia, followed by China, Singapore, India, and Belgium.

 

Top 5 Countries Importing from Saudi Arabia (SAR mln)
Change	Jan. 2015	Jan. 2014	Country
+33%	2,336	1,755	UAE
(23%)	1,736	2,269	China
(19%)	990	1,227	Singapore
--	831	831	India
+16%	634	546	Belgium