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Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports grew more than 26% year-on-year in July 2022 to hit SAR26.7 billion riyals ($7.1 billion), data issued by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics on Wednesday showed.
Total exports in the month increased by 59% y-o-y to SAR140.8 billion riyals. This was due to higher oil exports which rose by 69%, or SAR46.6 billion. Non-oil exports mainly comprised chemical and allied industries, accounting for 36% of the total.
However, compared to the previous month (June, 2022), total exports fell 5% or SAR4 billion.
Meanwhile, total imports increased by 18% in July to SAR 55.1 billion compared to SAR 46.6 billion in the same period last year, giving the country a positive trade balance of SAR 86 billion.
According to recent data from the Joint Organizations Data Initiative (JODI), the kingdom's crude exports grew by 188,000 b/d to 7.38 million b/d in July, a 27-month high.
Saudi Arabia has been enjoying the benefits of elevated oil prices since the Ukraine-Russia conflict led to a commodities price rise. However, according to JODI global oil demand fell in July by approximately 1.1 million barrels per day.
(Writing by Brinda Darasha; editing by Seban Scaria)
