Oman's foreign trade surplus fell 32 percent to 4.4 billion rials ($11.43 billion) in 2009 compared to a year earlier due to a fall in oil and gas exports, the Gulf country's economy minister said on Tuesday. The global economic crisis slashed oil output in Gulf Arab oil producing nations, trimming growth rates of the region's key players. Much smaller Oman was less hit because as a non-OPEC member it did not have to join oil output cuts required by the cartel. “The preliminary figures indicate that the hydrocarbon exports decreased by 41 percent due to a fall in oil prices in 2009,” Ahmad Mekki told Reuters. He did not give the figure for total exports, only saying that non-hydrocarbon exports increased by 16 percent and re-exports grew by 14 percent in 2009 over the previous year. Oil and gas account for roughly 80 percent of the country's overall exports. “Due to the domestic demand fall, overall imports dropped by 23 percent in 2009 compared to 2008,” Mekki said. Oman sold its oil at an average price of $56.7 per barrel in 2009, down 44 percent from the previous year. The sultanate's average oil production was 810,000 barrels per day last year, about 7 percent more than in 2008.
