RIYADH: Saudi Arabia achieved a surplus trade balance of SR29 billion ($7.73 billion) in May, according to a report released by the General Authority for Statistics. 

The data released by GASTAT revealed that the Kingdom’s merchandise imports increased 20.9 percent in May to SR67.7 billion, compared to the same month in 2022 when imports touched SR56 billion. 

GASTAT added that the Kingdom’s imports in May also rose SR9.8 billion or 16.9 percent compared to April 2023. 

The report, however, revealed that Saudi Arabia’s overall merchandise exports decreased 32.1 percent in May to SR97.1 billion, down from SR143 billion in May 2022. 

According to the authority, this fall was mainly driven by a dip in oil exports, which fell SR43.5 billion or 37.7 percent to SR 72.0 billion in May from SR115 billion in the same month in 2022. 

In April, Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as OPEC+, announced oil output cuts of around 1.2 million barrels per day, with the Kingdom pledging to reduce output by 500,000 bpd. 

Last month, the Kingdom also announced an additional cut of 1 million bpd for July, which it plans to extend to a voluntary output cut of 1 million bpd till August. 

The GASTAT report added that the share of oil in total exports for May decreased to 74.1 percent, compared to 80.8 in the same month in 2022. 

According to the study, non-oil exports in May declined 8.7 percent year on year to SR25.1 billion. On the other hand, non-oil trade, excluding re-exports, annually reduced by 19.2 percent. 

The GASTAT report further noted that the most imported non-oil export goods were products of the chemical and allied industries, which constituted 28.6 percent of the total exports. Exports of these products also went down by 27.2 percent in May. 

China was Saudi Arabia’s most active trading partner in May 2022, as the Kingdom’s exports to the Asian giant accounted for SR16.9 billion or 17.4 percent of the total exports. 

India and Japan were other top Saudi export destinations, with these countries receiving products worth SR9.1 billion and SR8.1 billion, respectively, from the Kingdom. 

“South Korea, the UAE, the US, Netherlands, Bahrain, Singapore, and Taiwan were the other countries that ranked in the top 10 destinations,” the report stated. 

It added: “Exports of Saudi Arabia to those 10 countries amounted to SR64.2 billion, accounting for 66.1 percent of total exports.”  

The report added that imports from China to Saudi Arabia amounted to SR15.7 billion, or 23.2 percent of the total imports in May. 

China was closely followed by the US and the UAE, with imports totaling SR5.7 billion and SR3.7 billion, respectively. 

The report also noted that the Jeddah Islamic Port topped the list of ports through which goods reached the Kingdom in May at SR18.5 billion or 27.3 percent of the total imports.