RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s trade surplus surged 218.9 percent year on year to SR57 billion ($15.2 billion) in March, marking its sharpest annual increase in nearly five years as oil exports jumped and imports declined sharply.
Figures released by the General Authority for Statistics showed merchandise exports rose 21.5 percent annually across the month, driven by a 37.4 percent increase in oil exports.
Oil shipments accounted for 80.3 percent of total exports, up from 71 percent a year earlier, while total imports fell 24.8 percent during the period, helping widen the Kingdom’s trade surplus.
Saudi Arabia is aiming for the non-oil sector to account for 50 percent of Saudi Arabia’s total exports by 2030, as part of the the Kingdom’s economic diversification drive.
The newly released report said: “‘Machinery, electrical equipment and parts’ were among the most important non-oil export commodities, accounting for 27.4 percent of the total
