The Iraqi government is moving to tighten the framework for exporting its goods to Saudi Arabia by compiling a list of Saudi companies interested in importing Iraqi products, a step aimed at streamlining trade procedures and boosting shipments to the kingdom.
The list will be circulated to all relevant Iraqi authorities and used as a reference in the export process, according to the information.
Trade between the two countries remains heavily tilted in Saudi Arabia’s favor. In 2024, Saudi exports to Iraq reached 6.5 billion riyals ($1.7 billion), while imports from Iraq totaled 180.4 million riyals ($48.1 million), resulting in a trade surplus of 6.3 billion riyals ($1.6 billion).
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority for Foreign Trade has informed the Saudi private sector of a request from Iraqi authorities to provide a list of companies willing to import goods from Iraq.
Push to raise Iraqi exports
The Iraqi government has also asked for details on Saudi market requirements and standards, seeking clarity that would allow it to set specifications for products, goods, and services and, in turn, increase its exports to the kingdom.
Fuel products, oils, and mineral waxes accounted for the largest share of Iraqi exports to Saudi Arabia at 49.1%. Aluminum and aluminum products accounted for 32.7%, while pulp from wood or other fibrous cellulosic materials accounted for 7.3%. The remaining share was spread across other goods and services.
Overall trade between Saudi Arabia and Iraq continues to expand in both volume and diversity, with Saudi exports clearly dominant. Both sides have stepped up efforts to ease trade flows and improve infrastructure to support more sustainable growth.
Border bottleneck eased
As part of its efforts to smooth access for Saudi products to regional markets, the General Authority for Foreign Trade recently stepped in to resolve a technical and logistical issue that had been hampering Saudi exporters at the Jadidat Arar border crossing with Iraq.
The intervention was aimed at safeguarding export flows through the only land route linking the two countries, which has grown in importance after an 81.3% rise in truck traffic in the first half of 2024.
The authority resolved a dispute over the Iraqi side’s refusal to accept electronic authentication of documents, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening trade ties with Baghdad.
The issue had been flagged as a recurring obstacle for Saudi companies exporting to Iraq via the crossing, prompting swift action by the authority to clear the backlog and ease private sector access to the Iraqi market.
Strategic gateway
Opened in 2020, the Jadidat Arar crossing is the sole economic and logistics gateway between Saudi Arabia and Iraq. It has played a key role in cutting export costs by 15% and reducing shipping times to less than 48 hours.
The Arar Chamber of Commerce said in a recent statistical report that total truck movements, arrivals, and departures combined reached about 33,300 in the first half of 2024.
By comparison, the number of trucks stood at about 4,084 in the first half of 2021, rose to 12,954 in the same period of 2022, and increased further to 18,729 in the first half of 2023.
