Non-Oil Exports in Suudi Arabistan Increased Thanks to Re-Exports

Suudi Arabistan's non-oil exports increased by 5 percent in nisan ayı compared to the same period of the previous year. In this positive development, the significant jump in re-export activities played a decisive role. According to government data, this increase was able to compensate for the decline in domestically produced non-oil exports. Domestically produced national non-oil exports experienced a contraction of approximately 7 percent during the year. In contrast, the value of re-exported goods purchased from abroad and sent to other countries increased at an impressive rate of 20 percent.

When evaluating the foreign trade data for nisan ayı, a significant change was also observed in the country's import volume. In the said period, Suudi Arabistan's total imports decreased by 5 percent compared to the previous year. This situation stood out as a factor that alleviated some pressures on the country's foreign trade balance. Looking at the export markets, Çin continued to be the largest market for Suudi Arabistan goods, single-handedly accounting for 15 percent of total exports. Çin was followed by Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri and Güney Kore respectively, and these countries absorbed a significant portion of Saudi exports.

On the import side, the distribution of supplier countries presents a different picture. Çin ranked first by a wide margin with a massive 29 percent share in Suudi Arabistan's total imports. It was followed by Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri (BAE) and Amerika Birleşik Devletleri in imports. These data prove that Suudi Arabistan maintains strong and diverse trade ties with both Asia and the West. Particularly, intensive trade relations with Far Eastern countries helped protect the supply chain even during times of crisis. The country's multipolar foreign trade policy acts as a kind of shield against global economic fluctuations.

Although the Suudi Arabistan economy still relies heavily on oil revenues, this dynamism in non-oil sectors is considered an important indicator. Approximately 69 percent of the exports made in nisan ayı were obtained directly from oil sales, and this figure showed an increase of 12 percent compared to the previous year. Even though global oil prices nearly doubled to 120 dolara due to the İran savaşı, some reductions in Suudi Arabistan's production capacity caused the share of oil exports in the total to increase only slightly. The weight of oil exports in GDP, which was at the 67 percent level in the same period of the previous year, showed a limited increase due to this contraction.

Uluslararası Para Fonu (IMF) announced that the Suudi Arabistan economy was relatively unaffected by regional conflicts. Although Azim Sadikov, IMF's Suudi Arabistan mission chief, admitted that the war somewhat shook economic confidence and momentum, he emphasized that the state's low public debt and massive financial reserves prevented an economic collapse. Additionally, according to the Riyad Bank's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), the non-oil private sector experienced a strong recovery in mayıs ayı, supported by an improvement in domestic demand. The stabilization of supply chains and the robustness of economic fundamentals continue to propel the country toward its Vision 2030 targets with steady steps.