RIYADH, 11 December 2002 — US exports to Saudi Arabia plunged 25.6 percent in the first nine months of 2002 over the same period last year, as fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks continued to trouble ties, according to an official US report yesterday.
The value of US exports to the Kingdom reached $3.457 billion on Sept. 30 this year compared to $4.648 billion in the first three quarters of 2001, official statistics showed. The figure is the lowest for US exports to Saudi Arabia since 1990, when they reached only $2.629 billion for the first nine months of the year.
US exports to the Kingdom in the third quarter of 2002 remained unchanged from the second quarter, but were 15 percent less than exports in the third quarter of 2001. Exports dropped 30.5 percent in the first half of 2002 compared to the same period last year.
Saudi exports to its main Western ally also dropped 16.6 percent during the first three quarters to $9.126 billion compared to $10.94 billion last year. The value of the Kingdom’s exports to the United States reached $13.3 billion in 2001, about 95 percent of which, or $12.6 billion, were oil and related products.
A grass-roots campaign to boycott US products in Saudi Arabia was launched in April following an Israeli military offensive against Palestinians over Washington’s support of Israel. The campaign was conducted from mosques, schools and universities, and through newspapers, the Internet and mobile phone text messages urging consumers to shun products originating from the United States.
Saudi Arabia is the United States’ main trading partner in the Middle East with US civilian and military exports valued at $5.9 billion and imports at $13.3 billion in 2001, according to official figures. The Kingdom is the second largest importer from the United States in the Middle East after Israel, but tops the list of exporters. (AFP)
