Saturday, Aug 04, 2012

RIYADH (Zawya Dow Jones)--Non-oil exports by Saudi Arabia rose 34 percent in 2011 to 157.5 billion riyals ($42 billion) compared to the previous year, led by SAR119 billion in exports of chemical products, plastics and rubber, the Saudi customs agency said in its annual report Saturday.

Imports amounted to SAR495.6 billion riyals, the customs agency said, in a statement carried by the state press agency. Machinery, appliances and electrical equipment made up the biggest group of imports by value, the report said.

Saudi Arabia imported SAR65 billion of goods from China, SAR62 billion from the United States, and SAR34 billion from Germany -- the top three exporters to the kingdom.

The top three recipients of non-oil goods from Saudi Arabia were China, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore, with SAR22 billion, SAR17 billion, and SAR11 billion, respectively.

By Ellen Knickmeyer and Iman Dawoud, Dow Jones Newswires, +971 55 109 3359, ellen.knickmeyer@dowjones.com, Twitter: ZDJnews.

Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-08-12 1021GMT