Riyadh – Mubasher: Saudi Arabia's merchandise imports have decreased by 3.3% year-on-year in April.
The kingdom’s merchandise imports amounted to SAR 42.7 billion last April, compared to SAR 44.1 billion in the same month a year earlier, the General Authority for Statistics’ (GASTAT) data revealed.
On a monthly basis, the GCC nation's merchandise imports increased by SAR 2.4 billion or 6%, compared to March, the Saudi statistics agency said.
Machinery and mechanical appliances and electrical equipment's imports tumbled 7.4% to SAR 9.5 billion in the fourth month of this year, from SAR 10.3 billion in the same month a year before.
Imports of vehicles and associated transport equipment jumped 10.2%, registering SAR 6.7 billion in April, compared to SAR 6.1 billion in the prior-year period.
Products of the chemical or allied industries’ imports surged 17.7% to SAR 4.4 billion in April, from SAR 3.7 billion in the same month in the year before.
China was the top exporter to Saudi Arabia with SAR 6.5 billion, followed by the US with SAR 6.2 billion, and the UAE with SAR 3.4 billion.
Year-on-year, Chinese exports to the oil-rich nation inched down 0.9%, whereas the US and UAE exports to Saudi Arabia increased 4.9% and 26.7%, respectively.
