RIYADH/CAIRO: The Opec member countries saw their income from crude exports last year, falling down by over $240 billion as their shipments fell by 12.4 per cent, Arab News reported.

The Opec members’ petroleum exports, which include crude oil and oil products, have dropped significantly, decreasing by 42.9 per cent in 2020. The 2020 figure stood at $321 billion, compared with $562 billion in 2019, according to the Opec’s annual statistical bulletin released on Thursday.

All member countries’ current account balances experienced a significant drop in 2020 and all except one country posted deficits.

Opec consolidated current account balance declined sharply to reach a deficit of $65 billion in 2020 down from a surplus of $102.3 billion in 2019.

However, only the UAE still had a positive current account balance, valued at $21 billion.

The Opec member countries in 2020 exported an average of 19.70 million barrels/day (bpd) of crude oil, marking a sharp decline of 2.78 million bpd, by 12.4 per cent from 2019, according to the Opec’s annual statistical bulletin.

All the member countries exported less crude except for Equatorial Guinea and the UAE, where they increased marginally.