Riyadh: The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released the International Trade Statistics Bulletin for April 2025, revealing a 10.9% year-on-year decline in Saudi Arabia’s total merchandise exports, which stood at SAR90.3 billion.
Despite the overall drop, non-oil exports including re-exports rose significantly to SAR28.4 billion, marking a 24.6% increase compared to April 2024. Imports also saw a notable rise, reaching SAR76.1 billion, up by 18.3% year-on-year.
As a result, the trade surplus narrowed sharply by 61.7%, falling to SAR14.2 billion compared to the same month last year. The share of oil exports in total exports declined to 68.6%, down from 77.5% in April 2024, indicating a growing contribution from non-oil sectors.
The bulletin highlighted that the ratio of non-oil exports (including re-exports) to imports improved slightly, reaching 37.2% in April 2025, up from 35.4% a year earlier.
Chemical industry products remained the leading category among non-oil exports, amounting to SAR6 billion and representing 26.4% of total non-oil exports. Machinery, electrical equipment, and parts were the top import category, totaling SAR21.1 billion, or 26% of total imports.
China retained its position as Saudi Arabia’s largest trading partner. Exports to China totaled SAR11.4 billion (12.6% of total exports), while imports from China reached SAR19 billion (25% of total imports) in April 2025.
The data in the bulletin is compiled using administrative records from the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority for non-oil trade and the Ministry of Energy for oil exports, based on the 2022 Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System.
