Qatar has recorded a trade surplus of QR15.9 billion in December 2018, the Planning and Statistics Authority said in a report on Sunday. This is an increase of QR1 billion or 6.6 percent when compared with the surplus in December 2017 and QR300 million or 1.9 percent in November 2018, according to the report.
Last month, Qatar imported goods worth QR9.5 million and exported products (domestic and re-exports) worth QR25.4 billion. The December exports showed a 1.9-percent fall from that in December 2017 and 1.1 percent from November 2018.
The imports too showed a decline of 13.3 percent from that in December 2017. However, a month-on-month comparison shows an increase of 0.3 percent in December 2018 imports.
The report attributed the year-on-year (December 2017 to December 2018), increase in exports primarily to increased foreign trade of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons. Their exports, which jumped 15.9 percent, raked in QR16.6 billion in December 2018.
However, exports of petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals showed decline during the period, with the crude products diving 47.6 percent and non-crude products falling 2.4 percent.
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In December 2018, South Korea received the most amount of the Qatari exports, accounting for nearly QR5 billion or 19.6 percent of its total foreign trade. It is followed by Japan with QR4.4 billion or 17.2 percent and China with QR3.7 billion or 14.4percent.
Meanwhile, the bulk of imports to Qatar came from the US last month. The country accounted for nearly QR1.7 billion or 17.7percent of all imports, followed by China with QR1.1 billion or 11.8 percent and United Kingdom with QR800 million or 8.5 percent.
Turbojets, turbo propellers and other gas turbines remained on top of imports to Qatar by value in December 2018, accounting for QR401 million. It is followed by motor cars and other passenger vehicles with QR400 billion and aircraft and other such parts with QR 399 billion.
