Qatar’s trade balance surplus declined by 24% to $5.2 billion

The merchandise trade balance surplus in Qatar, which represents the difference between total exports and imports during the month of last October, decreased by 24.2% to the level of 19 billion riyals ($5.2 billion), on an annual basis, and decreased by 800 million riyals, or 4.2% on an annual basis. Monthly basis.

Data from the Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority showed today, Wednesday, that the total value of Qatari exports, which include exports of local origin and re-exports, decreased by 23.5% to 29.1 billion riyals, compared to data for October 2022, and exports also declined by 0.7% compared to last September.

The value of merchandise imports also decreased, reaching about 10.1 billion riyals, recording an annual decline of 22.1%, while recording a monthly increase of 9%.

The Planning and Statistics Authority attributed the decline in the value of merchandise exports to the decline in the value of exports of “petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons,” which represent (liquefied natural gas, condensates, propane, butane, etc.), to reach about 16.4 billion riyals, by 35.7%, and the value of “petroleum oils” increased. “Oils and crude continental mineral materials” increased by 18.1% to reach approximately 6.4 billion riyals, and the value of exports of “petroleum oils and oils obtained from non-raw continental mineral materials” increased by 8.7% to reach approximately 2.4 billion riyals.

China occupied the top destination country for Qatar’s exports during October, with a value of 6.1 billion riyals, or 21%, followed by India with 12.1%, or a value of 3.5 billion riyals, then South Korea with 2.5 billion riyals, or 8.6%.

China also came at the top of the countries of origin for Qatar’s monthly imports, with a value of 1.7 billion riyals, or 17.3%, then the United States of America, with a rate of 14.1%, and a value of 1.4 billion riyals, followed by India, with 700 million riyals, or a rate of 6.6%.

It is noteworthy that the general budget in Qatar achieved a surplus of 12 billion riyals in the third quarter of this year, according to a statement by the Qatari Ministry of Finance.

Total revenues for the third quarter amounted to 61.8 billion riyals, and total expenses amounted to 49.8 billion riyals. Oil revenues grew 40.9% to 56.7 billion riyals, while non-oil revenues decreased 82% to 5.1 billion riyals.