In May, non-oil exports from Saudi Arabia reached a two-year high of SR28.89 billion ($7.70 billion), up 8.2 percent over the same month in 2023.
The General Authority for Statistics states that this also represented an increase of 26.93 percent from April.
As the Kingdom works to diversify its economy and lessen its reliance on oil earnings, strengthening the non-oil private sector continues to be a key objective.
Merchandise exports increased as well, rising 5.8 percent in May over the same month the previous year thanks to a 4.9 percent increase in oil shipments.
From April to May, merchandise exports rose by 3.3 percent on a month-over-month basis.
In May of this year, the percentage of total exports that came from the oil trade fell marginally, from 73 percent to 72.4%.
The percentage of non-oil exports (including reexports) to imports climbed from 39% in May 2023 to 41.1% in May 2024. According to GASTAT, this was caused by a 2.6 percent increase in imports and an 8.2 percent increase in non-oil exports during that time.
According to the data, which included 23.8% of all shipments in May, chemical and related products accounted for the majority of non-oil exports.
In May of this year, the Kingdom’s imports increased by 2.6% annually to SR70.24 billion.
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