The value of Saudi nonoil exports dropped by 22.74 percent in August to reach AED10.54 billion ($2.8 billion) compared to the same period last year, according to a report by the Central Department of Statistics and Information
Meanwhile, the value of Saudi imports stood at AED37.63 ($10.24 billion) billion in the said period, a decrease of 5.9 percent compared to the figures of the same period last year.
Plastic products captured 40.31 percent of total nonoil exports at the value of AED4.25 billion ($1.15 billion), followed by petrochemical products (28.78 percent) at AED3.03billion and foodstuffs in the third rank at 8.39 percent of the total exports.
The United Arab Emirates topped the list of countries receiving Saudi nonoil exports at 11.62 percent of total exports, followed by China and Singapore at 8.63 percent and 8.33 percent, respectively.
Machines and electric equipment registered the highest value of Saudi imports during the covered period at AED10.27 billion, or 27.31 percent of total imports, followed by transport equipment at AED6.61 billion (17.58 percent), minerals and their products at AED5.94 billion (15.8 percent), and foodstuffs at AED4.55 billion (12.11 percent).
China topped the countries mostly exporting goods to Saudi Arabia in August of the current year, capturing 14.11 percent of total Saudi imports, followed by the United States and South Korea at 13.22 percent and 7.06 percent, respectively.
As regards Saudi-GCC trade, the Kingdom exported Saudi-origin nonoil goods to the GCC countries to the amount of AED2.03 billion in August 2012 compared to AED2.09 billion in the same period last year, a decrease of 2.52 percent, while the national-origin imported goods from GCC states amounted to AED.59 billion compared to AED2.41 billion of the same period last year, an increase of 7.40 percent.
