The General Authority for Statistics announced today that non-oil exports increased by 18.1% in December 2024 compared to December 2023, with the value of re-exported goods also rising by 23.4% during the same period. However, commodity exports decreased by 2.8% in December 2024. On the other hand, imports saw a 27.1% increase in December 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.
According to the statistics, chemical industry products were among the most important non-oil exports, accounting for 25.9% of the total non-oil exports. Furthermore, the results of the international trade report for the fourth quarter of 2024 indicated a 17.3% increase in non-oil exports (including re-exports) compared to the fourth quarter of 2023. National non-oil exports (excluding re-exports) also increased by 8.2%, while the value of re-exported goods saw a significant rise of 47.3% during the same period. However, commodity exports decreased by 6.1% in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023 due to a decrease in petroleum exports by 13.3%. The percentage of petroleum exports from the total exports also decreased from 76.4% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 70.5% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
As for imports, there was a 15.5% increase in the fourth quarter of 2024. In terms of the commodity trade balance, the surplus decreased by 52.4% compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
It is important to note that the international trade statistics rely on administrative records from the General Authority for Zakat, Tax, and Customs (non-oil) and the Ministry of Energy (petroleum). The Kingdom’s commodity exports and imports are classified according to the coordinated system for describing and coding basic commodities in 2022.
