The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's overall merchandise exports increased by 62.6% in December 2021 compared to December 2020, when international trade was impacted by Covid-related lockdowns and travel bans in numerous countries. According to the International Trade Report for December 2021 issued by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT), the value of exports amounted to SAR 106.3 billion in December 2021, up from SAR 65.3 billion in December 2020. This increase originated mainly from oil exports, which rose by SAR 30.6 billion or 65.9% in the same period. The share of oil exports in total exports increased from 71.0% in December 2020 to 72.4% in December 2021. Compared to November 2021, total merchandise exports decreased by SAR -1.7 billion or 1.6%. The report revealed that the non-oil exports increased by 54.5% year-on-year in December 2021, rising to SAR 29.3 billion from SAR 18.9 billion in December 2020. Non-oil exports increased compared to November 2021 by SAR 2.6 billion or 9.9%. Merchandise imports increased by 17.7% (SAR 8.0 billion) in December 2021. The value of imports amounted to SAR 53.5 billion in December 2021 compared to SAR 45.5 billion in December 2020. Imports also increased compared to November 2021 by SAR 2.9 billion or 5.8%.
