Saudi Arabia (SAU) Exports, Imports, and Trade Partners

Saudi Arabia is the 29th largest exporter of goods and the 32nd largest import market in the world, with foreign trade representing 50.6% of its GDP. The free market economy of the Kingdom has seen notable transformations in a very short time. Its technological infrastructure has transformed from a primitive agricultural civilization into a regional and global economic power.

Main Exports

Crude Oil

Saudi Arabia is the greatest exporter of oil in the world and is home to 18% of all known oil reserves. The majority of the nation's exports are crude oil. According to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country produced an average of 10.3 million barrels of crude oil per day, of which 7.4 million barrels were exported daily. In reality, petroleum accounts for 70% of their export earnings.
The main oil importers of Saudi oil include China which takes 13.6%, followed by Japan at 11.3%, India at 10.7%, the United States takes 9.8% while South Korea takes 9.1% and Singapore at 4.7%. Their total export revenue is approximately $182 billion, and crude oil is the major contributor.

Refined Petroleum

Saudi Arabia retains a portion of the oil it produces to refine it into oil products like gasoline, diesel, and fuel oil, which are then exported to other countries and used locally. Saudi Arabia only shipped refined petroleum products worth $26.2 billion, or 3.3% of refined oil exports globally. It is still one of the top 15% of global exporters of refined petroleum products.
This may be happening because Saudi Arabia produces less crude oil than it formerly did. Since they depend on oil and its products to run manufacturing, production, and assembly facilities throughout the nation, they also consume a significant amount of their refined oil products to run their businesses.

Propylene Polymers

Among the countries Saudi Arabia exports, Propylene polymers are China and Turkey. Propylene polymer exports brought approximately $853 million in income to Turkey in 2021 and $379 million to China within the same period.
Saudi Arabia's neighbors, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, as well as Singapore, India, Italy, Mexico, Germany, and Egypt, are important markets for Saudi propylene polymers. Saudi Arabia is the commodity's largest exporter, while propylene polymers are the 84th most traded global goods.

Main Imports

Vehicles

Vehicles are a major import commodity in Saudi Arabia, making them the leading import product in the country. Even though the number of automobiles imported dropped by 20.5% in 2022, the total number of 440,922 vehicles was still excellent. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia imports everything, including dependable four-wheel drives for desert driving, sedans, heavy-duty trucks, buses, and vehicles for people with disabilities.

For the automobiles it imports, Saudi Arabia has access to more than 400 million consumers locally and in the MENA area, including the Middle East and North Africa. The Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement (GAFTA), which includes 17 nations in the MENA region, permits the member country to operate duty-free. The Saudi government uses this as an additional source of income because it now controls the entire regional auto market.

Pharmaceuticals

Imports of pharmaceuticals totalled $5.53 billion for Saudi Arabia in 2021. The nation imports 59% of the drugs used in the Gulf area, and as its healthcare sector expands, it is expected to import $8.5 billion of pharmaceuticals by 2023.
The country's 2030 goal calls for expanding the public and private sectors and the pharmaceutical and life sciences sectors. The nation can only generate 30% of its pharmaceutical items locally, and one of the reasons they have such a high requirement for imports of medications is its rapidly expanding population.

Main Trade Partners

China is currently Saudi Arabia's main trading partner. In 2021, the two nations' bilateral commerce reached $87.3 billion, with $30.3 billion in Chinese exports to the Kingdom and $57 billion in Chinese imports from Saudi Arabia. It is followed by India, Saudi Arabia's second-largest trading partner. According to data from India's Department of Commerce, for the current financial year (April-November), trade between the two countries was $24.9 billion, an increase of 94 percent over the same period last year. Besides, other major trading partners of the country are the UAE, Singapore, Germany, the United States, Japan and Turkey.

Sweet Tips from Ally

Due to significant pro-business changes and a substantial increase in oil prices, Saudi Arabia's economy is likely among the fastest expanding in the world this year. Despite this, the Kingdom is trying to develop the private sector and exports unrelated to oil and gas resources. Learn more about Global Economies across the World.