Saudi Non-Oil Exports Record 24.6% Increase in April

In a testament to its economic diversification programme, Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports, including re-exports, have recorded an increase of 24.6% in April this year compared with the corresponding month in 2024, while national non-oil exports, excluding re-exports, increased by 6.8%.

Moreover, the value of re-exported goods increased by 72% during the same period, the Kingdom’s General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) said. On the other hand, merchandise exports decreased by 10.9% in April 2025 compared with the same period last year. As a result, the oil exports decreased 21.2% y-o-y to $16.52 billion in April.

Consequently, the percentage of oil exports out of total exports decreased from 77.5% in April 2024 to 68.6% in April 2025. On the other hand, imports increased by 18.3% in April 2025, and the surplus of the merchandise trade balance decreased by 61.7% compared to April 2024.

The GASTAT also said that the ratio of non-oil exports (including re-exports) to imports increased slightly to 37.2% in April 2025 from 35.4% in April 2024. This is attributed to the increase in non-oil exports compared to imports of 24.6% and 18.3%, respectively, during the same period.

Among the most important non-oil exports were plastics, rubber, and their products, which constituted 21.7% of the total non-oil exports, recording a 4% increase compared with April 2024. Followed by chemical products, which represented 21% of total non-oil exports, with a 2.3% increase compared to April 2024.

However, the most important imported goods were machinery, electrical equipment and parts, which constituted 27.7% of total imports, rising by 25.4% compared to April 2024.

This was followed by transportation equipment and parts, which represented 17.2% of total imports, with a 64.5% increase compared to April 2024.

China Main Trading Partner

In April 2025, exports to China amounted to 12.6% of total exports, making this country the main destination for the Kingdom’s exports. This was followed by Japan (10.1% of total exports) and UAE (9.8%).

India, South Korea, the US, Egypt, Malta, Poland, and Kingdom of Bahrain were the other countries that ranked within the top ten destinations. Saudi exports to those ten countries accounted for 67.6% of total exports.

Similarly, China held the first position for the Kingdom’s imports, constituting 25% of total imports in April 2025, followed next by the US (7.5% of total imports) and the UAE (6.8%).

India, Germany, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, United Kingdom and France were among the top ten countries from which imports were made, with the total value of imports from these ten countries account for 66.3% of total imports.

Customs Ports for Imports

King Abdulaziz Sea Port in Dammam is one of the most important ports through which goods crossed into the Kingdom accounting for 26% of total imports in April 2025. Among the other major ports of entry for imports were Jeddah Islamic Sea Port (20.4%), King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh (13.9%), King Abdulaziz International Airport (12.6%), and King Fahad International Airport in Dammam (5.7%). Those five ports together accounted for 78.6% of the total merchandise imports of the Kingdom, GASTAT said.