Saudi Arabia’s trade balance recorded a 30% monthly growth, achieving a surplus of SAR20.7 billion ($5.5 billion) in October 2024, according to the Kingdom’s recently released global trade bulletin.
This marks an increase of over SAR4 billion ($1.06 billion) from SAR15.9 billion ($4.2 billion) in the previous month of September.
The Kingdom's total international trade volume reached SAR164.7 billion ($43.8 billion) in October, reflecting a 2% growth, amounting to SAR2.5 billion ($690.1 million) compared to nearly SAR162.2 billion ($43.1 billion) in September.
Merchandise exports contributed around SAR92.7 billion ($24.7 billion) to the total trade volume, while imports accounted for nearly SAR72 billion ($19.2 billion).
Non-oil exports in October totaled approximately SAR19.4 billion ($5.1 billion), representing 21% of total exports.
Meanwhile, oil exports amounted to around SAR67.3 billion ($17.9 billion), constituting 72.6% of total exports, and re-exports totaled nearly SAR5.9 billion ($1.5 billion), making up 6.4%.
In a related development, Asian countries, excluding Arab and Islamic nations, remained the top destination for Saudi merchandise exports, accounting for 52.2% of the total, valued at SAR48.4 billion ($12.9 billion).
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries ranked second with 13.1% of the total, with SAR12.1 billion ($3.2 billion), followed by the European Union with 13%, amounting to SAR12 billion ($3.2 billion).
By individual country, China was the leading destination for Saudi exports in October 2024, representing 16.1% of total exports, amounting to SAR14.9 billion ($3.9 billion).
India ranked second with SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion), representing 9.5%, and Japan placed third with SAR8.7 billion ($2.3 billion), representing 9.4%.
Non-oil exports, including re-exports, passed through 33 customs ports via sea, land, and air routes, with a total initial value of SAR25.3 billion ($6.7 billion).
Notably, King Fahd Industrial Port in Jubail recorded the highest value among all transportation ports, handling SAR3.7 billion ($1 billion), or 15% of the total.
