The latest data from the General Authority for Statistics indicates a significant upswing in commerce between Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) counterparts. In the report covering the fourth quarter of 2023, there’s a notable 13% escalation in trade activity compared to the same timeframe the previous year. The trade figures soared by SAR6,363 billion, culminating in a hefty SAR55,583 billion in the last quarter of 2023, a substantial leap from SAR49,219 billion.
In terms of trade balance, the Kingdom realized a surplus of SAR13,035 billion with its GCC peers. Exports stood at approximately SAR34,309 billion in the fourth quarter, accounting for 11.5% of Saudi Arabia’s overall exports. These exports have reached a total of SAR297,902 billion to all countries. Imports from GCC nations were around SAR21,274 billion, making up about 10.6% of the Kingdom’s total imports of SAR201,407 billion.
The report also shed light on the impressive performance of non-oil national exports, including re-exports, which saw a 42% year-on-year surge. These exports experienced a gain in value by SAR6,129 billion, ascending to roughly SAR20,785 billion, in stark contrast with SAR14,656 billion in the last quarter of 2022.
Diving into specifics, the non-oil trade between Saudi Arabia and GCC countries revealed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as the top trading partner with a commanding value of SAR13,990 billion, composing 67.3% of Saudi’s non-oil exports to the region. Bahrain claimed the second spot with exports valued at SAR2,295 billion (11.04%), followed by Kuwait at SAR1,819 billion (8.8%). Qatar and Oman rounded out the list with trade values of SAR1,447 billion (7%) and SAR1,234 billion (6%) respectively.