Riyadh: According to the most recent information made available by the General Authority for Statistics, Saudi Arabia's merchandise imports decreased 16.1 percent to SR57.9 billion ($15.4 billion) in April 2023 from SR69 billion the previous month.

However, compared to SR57.3 million in April 2022, the Kingdom's imports of goods increased by 1% in April 2023.

The GASTAT report shows that overall exports of goods fell by 25.2% to SR103 billion in April 2023 from SR137.7 billion in the same month the previous year.

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From SR107.5 billion in March 2023, it fell by 4.2%.

Oil exports, which fell 23.6 percent to SR83.8 billion in April 2023 from SR109.7 billion in the same month the previous year, were the main cause of the decline.

Data made public earlier this month by the Joint Organisations Data Initiative revealed that in April 2023, the Kingdom's crude oil exports hit a five-month low.

In April 2023, it decreased 2.6 percent to 7.31 million barrels per day from 7.51 million bpd the month before. 

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Furthermore, according to GASTAT, non-oil exports, including reexports, fell by 31.2% yearly to SR19.2 billion in April 2023. 

Chemicals and allied products made up 34.6 percent of the exports of non-oil goods and were the most popular.

In April 2023, China continued to be Saudi Arabia's most active trading partner, purchasing SR18 billion, or 17.5% of all exports from the Kingdom.

SR11.2 billion and SR9.9 billion, respectively, were exported to Japan and South Korea in April 2023. 

"India, the US, the UAE, Poland, Bahrain, Taiwan and Singapore were the other countries that ranked in the top 10 destinations," stated GASTAT in the report.

On the other hand, imports from China to the Kingdom in April 2023 totaled SR11.3 billion, or 19.5% of all imports. 

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SR5 billion and SR3.4 billion in SR respectively in imports from the US and India were also mentioned in the report. 

Other nations in the top 10 for imports included the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Greece, Switzerland, and Italy.

SR36.5 billion, or 63 percent of total imports, went to the Kingdom from these nations. 

While this was going on, Jeddah Islamic Port offloaded the most goods in April, totaling SR17 billion or 29.3%.