Saudi Arabia's merchandise exports soared to $410bn last year

Saudi Arabia’s merchandise exports increased 48.9% year on year (y-o-y) in 2022 to hit SR1.54 trillion ($410 billion), driven by a rise in oil exports, according to the latest report released by General Authority for Statistics.  

The GASTAT report noted that the Kingdom’s oil exports soared 61.8% last year to SR1.22 trillion, compared to SR758.1 billion 2021.

The report further noted that the share of oil exports in total exports increased from 73.2% in 2021 to 79.5% in 2022.

Reflecting the progress of Saudi Arabia’s economic diversification journey, the Kingdom’s non-oil exports and re-exports increased 13.7% in 2022 to SR315.7 billion from SR277.5 billion in the previous year.

Its non-oil exports, excluding re-exports, also rose by 14.8% in 2022 compared to 2021.

According to the report, the most important non-oil export goods in 2022 were chemicals and allied products, accounting for 35.8%  of the total exports.

The GASTAT report added that the Kingdom’s merchandise imports rose 24.2% in 2022 to SR712 billion, compared to SR573.2 billion in the previous year.  

China remained Saudi Arabia’s most active trading partner in 2022, as the Kingdom’s exports to the Asian giant amounted to SR249.9 billion or 16.2% of total exports.

China was closely followed by India and Japan with SR157.2 billion and SR152.9 billion of the total exports, respectively.  

South Korea, the US, the UAE, Egypt, Taiwan, Singapore and Bahrain were the other countries that ranked in the top 10 destinations for Saudi Arabia’s exports.

Exports of the Kingdom to these countries amounted to SR1.02 trillion, accounting for 66.2% of total exports, added GASTAT in the report.  

On the other hand, imports from China amounted to SR149.3 billion in 2022, followed by the US and the UAE with SR65 billion and SR45.1 billion, respectively.

India, Germany, Japan, Egypt, South Korea, Italy and Switzerland were the other countries that ranked in the top 10 countries for imports.

Imports of Saudi Arabia from these countries amounted to SR435.8 billion, accounting for 61.2% of total imports.

The report revealed that the Jeddah Islamic Port topped the list of ports through which goods reached the Kingdom in 2022 at a value of SR195.6 billion, corresponding to 27.5% of the total imports.