Saudi non-oil exports up 40.5% year-on-year in June to $6.2 billion

RIYADH: The non-oil exports of Saudi Arabia surged 40.5 per cent year-on-year in June 2021, rising to SR23.6 billion ($6.2 billion) from SR16.8 billion in June last year, Arab News quoted official data, as showing.

Plastics and rubber and articles thereof jumped 68 per cent and products of the chemical or allied industries increased 49.2 per cent in June this year, compared with the same period of the last year, the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) reported.

The non-oil exports increased 7.2 per cent equivalent to SR1.6 billion in June, compared with the previous month of May 2021.

“[The] Saudi Arabian government supported the private sector and factories to face the financial and economic effects caused by the pandemic, so the kingdom became safe from the consequences of the pandemic, and now as soon as life returns to normal, we see that the growth of non-oil exports by 40.5% is the normal result of government support,” Muath Alamri, a Riyadh-based independent economist, told Arab News.

“[The] local industries played a role this year with petrochemicals exports rising in the second quarter of 2021, while at the same time, there was an increase in factories, as the total number went up to more than 10,000 factories,” he added.

The overall merchandise exports jumped 91.8 per cent in June 2021, compared with the same period of the last year, when the international trade was impacted by the Covid-related lockdowns and travel bans in numerous countries.

The value of exports increased to SR84.7 billion in June 2021, up from SR44.2 billion in June 2020, originating mainly from oil exports, which rose to SR33.7 billion, or 123.2 per cent, in the same period.

The non-oil exports rose 52.1 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2021, rising from SR43.2 billion last year to SR65.7 billion, according to GASTAT.