RIYADH: The value of Saudi nonoil exports dropped by 22.74 percent in August to reach SR 10.77 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 SR 38.43 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 SR 4.34 billion, followed by petrochemical products (28.78 percent) at SR 3.1 billion 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 SR 10.49 billion, or 27.31 percent of total imports, followed by transport equipment at SR 6.75 billion (17.58 percent), minerals and their products at SR 6.07 billion (15.8 percent), and foodstuffs at SR 4.65 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 SR 2.08 billion in August 2012 compared to SR 2.14 billion in the same period last year, a decrease of 2.52 percent, while the national-origin imported goods from GCC states amounted to SR 2.65 billion compared to SR 2.47 billion of the same period last year, an increase of 7.40 percent.
Nonoil exports down 22.7 percent
