JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia's petrochemical exports grew 17.2 percent by volume last year, partly as a result of higher demand from Asia in the fourth quarter. The Kingdom shipped 30.7 million metric tons of petrochemicals from its ports in 2010, up from 26.2 million tons a year earlier, Saudi Ports Authority said on its website Tuesday. Exports in December rose by 24.8 percent to 3.15 million metric tons compared with the same month in 2009. December's exports were 19.7 percent larger than in November, when Saudi Arabia shipped 2.63 million tons of petrochemicals, according to the authority's data. Asian demand outpaced available supply from Saudi Arabia in the fourth quarter and will continue to do so in the first quarter of this year, Abdul-Rahman al-Zamil, the head of the Riyadh-based Export Development Center, said on Jan. 12. The center promotes non-oil exports. Saudi petrochemical exports will continue to grow in 2011 in spite of anti-dumping investigations by China, India, Turkey, and Pakistan, he said.
