In January 2025, commodity exports increased by 2.4% compared to the same month in 2024. Non-oil exports, including re-exports, also rose by 10.7% in January 2025 as opposed to January 2024. On the other hand, imports increased by 8.3% in January 2025, leading to an 11.9% decrease in the trade surplus compared to January 2024.
The International Trade Statistics report for January 2025, released by the General Authority for Statistics, indicated that the percentage of non-oil exports, including re-exports, to imports in January 2025 reached 36.5%, up from 35.7% in January 2024. Additionally, the proportion of petroleum exports from total exports decreased from 74.8% in January 2024 to 72.7% in January 2025.
The report highlighted that “chemical industry products” were among the most important non-oil export commodities, accounting for 23.7% of total non-oil exports. Meanwhile, the largest imported goods were “machinery, electrical equipment, and parts,” representing 25.9% of total imports.
Furthermore, the report showed that the People’s Republic of China was the Kingdom’s main trading partner in commodity trade. Exports to China accounted for 15.2% of total exports in January 2025, while imports from China represented 26.4% of total imports in the same month.
