GCC Foreign Trade Tops $840 Bln

The Gulf foreign trade dropped 21.5 percent in 2020 to reach $840.7 billion due to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, compared to $1.07 trillion in 2019, according to the Statistical Center for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCCStat).

GCCStat issued a report Friday showing that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates contributed to nearly three-quarters of the GCC foreign merchandise trade.

The Center monitors the most important statistical indicators related to international merchandise trade, which does not include intra-regional trade, for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, based on the data prepared regularly in cooperation with the national statistical centers and agencies in the member countries.

According to the report, the total merchandise exports amounted to $438.5 billion during 2020, a 28.4 percent drop compared to 2019, while the national exports of the GCC countries (including oil) amounted to $358.9 billion during 2020, dropping 29.1 percent compared to 2019.

Re-exported Gulf goods recorded $79.6 billion, down 24.5 percent, while total merchandise imports decreased by 12.4 percent compared to 2019 to reach $402.2 billion in 2020.

The Center indicated that the GCC merchandise trade surplus decreased by 76.2 percent to reach $36.4 billion in 2020 compared to $153.2 billion in 2019.

China ranked first among essential GCC trade partners in terms of total merchandise exports, with 19 percent of the total merchandise exports, while the total merchandise exports to China dropped 21.8 percent to about $83.1 billion, compared to $106.3 billion.

India ranked second with 12.2 percent, followed by South Korea 8 percent, Japan 6.4 percent, Singapore 4.1 percent, and the United States 4 percent. They also constitute the largest importers of crude oil and natural gas from the GCC countries.

Oil and its byproducts accounted for 70.3 percent of merchandise exports of national origin, amounting to about $252.2 billion in 2020, compared to $404.6 billion in 2019.

Gold and precious stones dropped 8.2 percent, plastic and its byproducts 6.3 percent, followed by organic chemical products with 3.3 percent, aluminum and its byproducts declined 2.8 percent and fertilizers with 1 percent.