Oman's trade surplus surges to $11.4bln in September

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Muscat: The Sultanate's trade balance recorded a surplus of OMR4,410.0 million at the end of September 2019, compared to OMR4,053.9 million at the end of September 2018, an increase of 7.78 per cent, according to preliminary statistics released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The value of merchandise exports by the end of September 2019 stood at OMR11,105.7 million, compared to OMR11,565.3 million, down by 4 per cent as against the corresponding period ending June 2018.

The value of merchandise imports dropped by 9.7 per cent to OMR6,785.7 million at the end of September 2019 from OMR7,511.4 million in the corresponding period in 2018.

The Sultanate’s oil and gas exports stood at OMR7,618.6 million, down 0.6 per cent by the end of September 2018, registering OMR7,664.5 million.

The value of refined oil exports amounted to OMR819.6 million while liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports stood at OMR1,291.5 million.

The statistics showed that the Sultanate’s export of non-oil products decreased by 4 per cent to OMR2,469.7 million by the end of September last year, compared to OMR2,573.5 million in the corresponding period of last year.

Chemical industries products constituted the highest value among merchandise exports, as they stood at OMR685.2 million, followed by ordinary metal products at OMOR630 million, mineral products at OMR261.7 million, plastic and rubber products at OMR164.2 million, livestock and their products at OMR143.7 million and exports of other products at OMR585 million.

The value of re-exports from the Sultanate dropped by 23.4 per cent by the end of September 2019 to OMR1,017.3 million, compared to OMR1,327.3 million during the corresponding period in 2018.

The value of re-exports in transport machinery dropped by 14.1 per cent to OMR296.6 million, while the value of products of machinery, electrical equipment and appliances decreased by 6.9 per cent to OMR291.1 million. The value of re-exports of metal products dropped by 81.8 per cent to OMR59.5 million while chemical industries products re-exports came down by 18 per cent, registering 53.5 million. Re-export value of foodstuff and beverage industries rose by 47.7 per cent to OMR171.1 million and re-export value of other products stood at OMR235.6 million.

The value of merchandise imports of the Sultanate dropped by 23.7 per cent in the sector of machinery and electrical appliances and equipment, registering OMR1,520.8 million by the end of September 2019, compared to the corresponding period in 2018.

The value of imports of ordinary metals came down by 15.7 per cent from OMR1,062.2 million. Transport equipment imports registered a 35.8 per cent rise to OMR737.8 million from OMR543.4 million by the end of September 2018. Imports of chemical industries products went up slightly by 0.4 per cent to OMR584.9 million.

The value of the Sultanate's imports of mineral products declined by 38.9 per cent to OMR410.3 million while the value of the Sultanate's foodstuff and beverage industries products stood at OMR408.1 million. Imports of livestock products stood at OMR395.3 million while imports of plastic and rubber products stood at OMR328.6 million. Imports of other products accounted for OMR1,337.7 million.

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia topped the trade exchange with the Sultanate in non-oil products, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) topped the trade exchanges in terms of imports and re-exports from the Sultanate.

The Sultanate’s non-oil exports to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia registered OMR461.2 million at the end of September 2019, up by 28.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period of last year.

Non-oil exports to the UAE stood at OMR451.2 million followed by India at OMR229.9 million, Qatar at OMR171.4 million and China at OMR171.1 million.

The share of the UAE from re-export transactions stood at OMR295.9 million, followed by Qatar at OMR207 million, Iran at OMR169.8 million, the United States at OMR32 million and Somalia at OMR30.2 million.

The UAE also topped the list of countries exporting to the Sultanate. Its imports to Oman by the end of September 2019 stood at OMR2,754.8 million, followed by China at OMR464 million, free zones at OMR378.4 million, India at OMR343.7 million and Brazil at OMR280.9 million.

Marine border outlets accounted for the highest value of total merchandise imports to the Sultanate, registering OMR3,824.1 million by September 2019, followed by land border checkpoints, which registered a value of OMR1,960.2 million and air outlets at OMR1,001.4 million. -ONA

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