Saudi Arabia’s exports continued to show signs of a rebound, with total exports rising 79.6% in July 2021 versus the same month last year when the global pandemic choked international trade and oil prices remained lower.
The value of Saudi merchandise exports amounted to SR91.8 billion ($24.48 billion) in July 2021, compared to SR51.1 billion ($13.62 billion) in July 2020, according to the latest figures from the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released on Wednesday.
Oil drove the growth. Petroleum exports rose by 112.1 percent or SR37.5 billion ($10 billion) during the same period. Merchandise exports increased by 8.2% compared to June 2021, with a value of SR7 billion ($1.87 billion).
But non-oil exports, a key measurement of the progress in the Kingdom’s efforts to diversify its economy, also grew. Saudi non-oil exports increased by 17.9% year-on-year in July 2021.
Of the most important non-oil goods, plastics, rubber and their derivatives represent 37.6 percent of the total non-oil exports, and increased by 47.7 percent or SR2.5 billion ($670 million), the data show.
