Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports during the month of June on an annual basis jumped by 94.1 per cent, to reach about 117.7 billion riyals (about 31.32 billion dollars), taking advantage of the significant rise in oil prices, amid the global supply shortage crisis and the repercussions of the Ukrainian war.
The General Authority for Statistics said on Wednesday, that the Kingdom’s oil exports in the second quarter amounted to about 343.7 billion riyals (91.7 billion dollars), an increase of about 106.5 per cent on an annual basis.
According to official data in the Kingdom, oil prices were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but they recovered significantly during the current year, exceeding $100 a barrel.
As for non-oil commodity exports, including re-exports, they rose last June to 30.1 billion riyals ($8 billion), with an annual increase of 26.8 per cent.
In the second quarter in total, non-oil exports amounted to 86.2 billion riyals ($23 billion), an annual increase of 31 per cent.
In terms of imports, Saudi imports rose in the second quarter of this year by 21.7 per cent to 171 billion riyals ($45.6 billion), and in June alone, they amounted to about 60 billion riyals ($16 billion), an increase of 28.9 per cent year on year.
In June, China was the Kingdom’s main partner in merchandise trade, as Saudi exports to it in the second quarter amounted to 20.8 billion riyals, making China the main destination for exports, followed by Japan 14.8 billion riyals, India 14.1 billion riyals, South Korea 11.7 billion riyals and US 10.1 billion riyals.
The Statistics Authority stated that China was the main trading partner of Saudi Arabia in the second quarter of the year, as the value of the Kingdom’s exports to it during this period amounted to 63.4 billion riyals (17 billion dollars), and imports from it 34 billion riyals (9 billion dollars).
According to Statistics Authority data, the Kingdom’s trade surplus in the second quarter of the year amounted to 258.8 billion riyals, and in June alone it recorded 87.8 billion riyals.
