Oman’s Trade surplus widens 23% to $4.4bln in February

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Muscat – Helped by a robust growth in non-oil exports, Oman recorded a trade surplus of RO1.693bn for the first two months of 2024, up 22.9% from RO1.378bn recorded during the same period in 2023, according to preliminary statistics from the National Center for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

Total merchandise exports grew by 19.5% to RO4.414bn during the January-February period of this year compared to RO3.695bn during the same period a year ago.

The value of registered merchandise imports reached RO2.721bn, marking a 17.4% increase compared to RO2.317bn in the previous year.

The rise in export value is primarily attributed to an increase in oil and gas exports, which totaled RO2.566bn, a 7.2% rise from RO2.394bn at the end of February 2023.

Within this category, crude oil exports increased by 21.5% to RO1.905bn. Conversely, refined oil exports decreased by 19% to RO210mn, and liquefied natural gas exports dropped by 20.5% to RO451mn.

Non-oil merchandise exports saw a 49.1% increase, reaching RO1.601bn by the end of February 2024, compared to RO1.074bn in the same period of 2023.

Mineral products led this category with a value of RO839mn, up 142.7% from the previous year. Ordinary metal products followed at RO232mn, a 16.3% increase, while chemical industry products decreased by 12.1% to RO167mn.

The value of plastic and rubber products exports rose by 9.5% to RO153mn. Exports of live animals and animal products increased by 2.8% to RO58mn, and other products also amounted to RO153mn.

On the other hand, re-exports from Oman rose by 8.9% to RO247mn by the end of February 2024. Re-exports of machinery, appliances, and electrical equipment increased by 13.4% to RO62mn, whereas transportation equipment re-exports fell by 1.3% to RO60mn.

Food, beverages, and liquids industry product re-exports decreased by 3.7% to RO24mn, while re-exports of live animals and animal products increased by 9.1% to RO23mn. Re-exports of mineral products rose by 12.6% to RO18mn, and other products amounted to RO61mn.