Saudi petroleum exports declined by 17.1 percent last September, on an annual basis, to reach 83.1 billion riyals ($22.2 billion), according to what the Saudi General Authority for Statistics announced on Thursday.
This led to a decline in the Kingdom’s total merchandise exports by 17.1 percent in September, reaching 103.8 billion riyals, down from 125.3 billion riyals in the same month last year.
The decline in the Kingdom's petroleum exports comes in light of the voluntary oil production reduction that the Kingdom began within the framework of the OPEC+ alliance, with the aim of maintaining the stability of global markets.
Non-oil exports also decreased last September, by about 17.2 percent on an annual basis, to reach 20.7 billion riyals.
In terms of imports, they also decreased last September by about 2.2 percent, reaching 60.1 billion riyals, compared to 61.5 billion riyals in the same month last year, and they also decreased compared to the previous month of August by 13.7 percent.
According to data from the Statistics Authority, the Saudi trade surplus in September continued to rise for the second month in a row, reaching 44 billion riyals, compared to 34 billion riyals in August, but it remained declining compared to the same month last year, which then reached 64 billion riyals.
China maintained its position as the Kingdom's largest trading partner, as Saudi Arabia's exports to China in September amounted to 19 billion riyals, representing about 18.3 percent of total exports, while the value of imports from China reached 12.3 billion riyals, representing 20.5 percent of the Kingdom's total imports.
