RIYADH, 17 September 2006 — Minister of Trade and Commerce Dr. Hashim Yamani said here yesterday that the biggest benefit Saudi Arabia gained from its joining the World Trade Organization (WTO) was that Saudi exports were now open to global markets.

Addressing the press after inaugurating the Second Saudi Export Meeting organized by the Saudi Development Center, the minister said that Saudi exports were a sign of strength for the Saudi economy, adding that over the past decade exports from the Kingdom have increased and are more likely to increase after it joined the WTO.

However, he said Saudi exports still needed more government support. “There is no doubt that Saudi exports need support from government institutions in the Kingdom to make better use of export opportunities,” he said.

He said that by joining the WTO, the entire Saudi industry would benefit, since it would enable Saudi products to be sold in the global market.

Commenting on the recent date crisis between the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom and the difficulties faced by Saudi date exporters, Yamani said: “Dates are one of the main exports of the Kingdom. It is unfortunate that only four percent of the total production of the Kingdom’s dates are exported abroad. There are efforts being done to have Saudi dates exported to many global markets. As for problems or hurdles they can be dealt with by concerned authorities,” he said. “The Ministry of Agriculture is currently looking into the issue.”

The minister said the Saudi economy nowadays was in a “golden period” where many achievements have been made, saying that non-petrochemical exports also contributed to the strength of the national economy.

He said the Kingdom was now reaping the fruits of the seeds it had planted before in rectifying the infrastructure of the Saudi economy, which started ten years ago.

“The Saudi national growth rate has increased 22.6 percent in 2005 from its percentage in 2004. The private sector has also grown by 6.7 percent from its previous year,” he said.

Yamani said that the trade volume between the Kingdom and the other countries in the world has increased in 2005 by 29 percent to SR828 billion, adding that it increased SR188 billion last year, from the previous year of 2004. Of the total trade volume, he said, SR605 billion was domestic products, representing an increase of SR133 billion, which is 28 percent higher than what it was in 2004.

“Despite non-petrochemical products only representing 12 percent of the total Saudi exports last year, there is a rapid growth in non-petrochemical exports over the past years. In 2005, non-petrochemical exports increased to SR71 billion, which is SR20 billion higher than what it was the previous year.”

He called for increasing production efficiency, improving the quality of products, and easing the insurance and guarantee of these products.

“We cannot increase the efficiency of non-petrochemical Saudi products without solving problems associated with them such as not having a clear domestic strategic plan for developing domestic exports,” he said. Other problems are the weakness in marketing and campaigning, the lack of sufficient information on foreign markets, the non-awareness of companies and institutions with directives that concern exporting, in addition to using of loans and funds provided by local and foreign financial institutions in a wise manner.

Abdullah Al-Abdulqadir, deputy executive director of the Saudi Export Development Center, said the annual meeting would now discuss non-petrochemical Saudi products after the Kingdom has become a member in the WTO.

He said the government of Saudi Arabia was paying great attention to the export of non-petrochemical exports as was obvious in meeting of boards of councils, committees, as well as personal attention from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to some of the Saudi export exhibitions held abroad. He also said that the government had allocated SR15 billion to fund and insure Saudi exports.

On his part, Abdul Rahman Al-Jeraisy, president of the Riyadh Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the capacity of factories in the Kingdom has increased drastically where today 3,723 factories produce SR998.5 billion of goods and where 365,000 people work.

He said the development the Kingdom has witnessed in industrial and trade institutions proudly earned it 12th place in world exports in 2005, moving up a notch by one place from 13 in 2004.

He also called for the establishment of a complete strategic plan to reinforce competitive qualifications in Saudi exports to secure its place in the global market.