Saudi non-oil exports jump 10.7% in January

Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports, including re-exports, recorded an increase of 10.7 percent in January 2025 compared to the same month last year. The increase in the non-oil exports, with the exclusion of re-exports, stood at 13.1 percent during the period.

This was revealed in the International Trade Report for January 2025, published by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) on Thursday. The report showed a 2.4 percent increase in merchandise exports compared to January 2024, and a 5.7 percent increase in the value of re-exported goods.

The report showed a 0.4 percent decline in oil exports in January, year-on-year, and a decline in their share of total exports to 72.7 percent, compared to 74.8 percent in January 2024. As for imports, they recorded an 8.3 percent increase in January, and a decline in the trade balance surplus by 11.9 percent, year-on-year.

Non-oil exports, including re-exports, to imports rose to 36.5 percent in January 2025, compared to 35.7 percent in the same month last year, and this is attributed to a higher increase in non-oil exports than imports.

The Kingdom’s exports of chemical products recorded an increase of 14.4 percent year-on-year in January, followed by exports of plastics, rubber, and their products, which increased by 10.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom’s imports of machinery, appliances, and electrical equipment recorded an increase of 27.4 percent in January compared to the same month in 2024. Imports of transportation equipment and parts also increased by 10.3 percent.

The GASTAT report showed that China remains the Kingdom’s main trading partner, accounting for 15.2 percent of total exports and 26.4 percent of imports. India ranks second in exports with 10.9 percent, followed by Japan with 10.2 percent. The United States ranks second in imports with 8.3 percent, followed by the UAE with 5.5 percent.