Kuwait’s trade surplus dips 10% due to oil price decline

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Kuwait - The decrease in oil prices led to a 10% decline in Kuwait’s trade surplus value in January compared to the same period last year, dropping from 1.2 billion dinars to 1.1 billion dinars, reports Al- Qabas daily.

Official statistics from the Central Administration of Statistics reveal that Kuwait’s exports during this time totaled around two billion dinars, marking an 8% decrease from the previous year’s figure of 2.2 billion dinars.

Similarly, imports saw a decrease of approximately 7.5%, amounting to 939.4 million dinars compared to 1.01 billion dinars in January of the previous year.

Oil exports dominated Kuwait’s export landscape in January, accounting for 91.5% of total exports, amounting to about 1.9 billion dinars.

This represented a decline of 241 million dinars year-on-year due to Kuwait’s adherence to oil production cuts mandated by the OPEC+ alliance.

Non-oil exports, on the other hand, saw an increase of 20.4%, totaling around 106 million dinars compared to 88.4 million dinars in the same period last year.

Non-oil exports included a variety of products such as organic chemicals, iron and steel products, machinery, essential oils, and dairy products.

In terms of import destinations for Kuwaiti goods excluding oil, the UAE ranked first with imports totaling approximately 40 million dinars, followed by Iraq with 34.3 million dinars, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 22 million dinars.

Kuwait’s imports in January were distributed across various categories, with food and beverages accounting for 15.5% of total imports, valued at 145.5 million dinars. Industrial supplies and transportation equipment followed, with imports valued at approximately 228.5 million dinars and 148 million dinars respectively.

China emerged as the leading source of imports for Kuwait, capturing 21.6% of total imports with a value of 203 million dinars. The UAE and the United States followed, with exports worth 118.3 million dinars and 77 million dinars respectively.