Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Saudi Arabia's merchandise exports amounted to SR90.3 billion in April this year, marking a 10.9 percent decrease compared to April 2024. Non-oil exports, including re-exports, recorded an increase of 24.6 percent, reaching SR28.4 billion, compared to the same period last year, according to the International Trade Statistics Bulletin for April 2025, released on Wednesday by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).

There has been an increase of 18.3 percent in imports, reaching SR76.1 billion in April. However, the trade surplus declined sharply by 61.7 percent, dropping to SR14.2 billion compared to April 2024, the GASTAT report pointed out.

The bulletin indicated that there was a rise in the ratio of non-oil exports, including re-exports to imports, reaching 37.2 percent in April 2025, up from 35.4 percent in April 2024. Meanwhile, the share of oil exports in total exports decreased from 77.5 percent in April 2024 to 68.6 percent in April 2025.

Chemical industry products were the top non-oil export goods, amounting to SR6 billion and accounting for 26.4 percent of total non-oil exports. The largest category of imported goods was "machinery, electrical equipment, and their parts," which totaled SR21.1 billion, representing 26 percent of total imports.

The bulletin also showed that China remained the Kingdom's top trading partner. Exports to China totaled SR11.4 billion, accounting for 12.6 percent of total exports in April 2025, while imports from China reached SR19 billion, representing 25 percent of total imports for the same month.

The International Trade Statistics are based on administrative records from the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority for non-oil data and the Ministry of Energy for oil data, where the Kingdom's exports and imports are classified according to the 2022 Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System.