An increase in oil prices and higher gas supplies by Qatar boosted exports of goods by Gulf hydrocarbon producers to their main economic partner Japan by nearly 26 per cent in the 2010, according to official Japanese data.
Their imports from the Asian industrial giant also swelled by 13.9 per cent due to higher yen value and larger export volumes by Japan to maintain its position as the top single trading partner of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
Figures by the government-run Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) showed the UAE remained the top GCC importer from Japan while Saudi Arabia retained its status as the largest exporter to Tokyo.
From around $80.68 billion in 2009, the GCC’s combined exports to Japan surged by 26.3 per cent to nearly $101.92 billion in 2010. Imports increased to around $19.97 billion from $17.52 billion.
A breakdown showed the UAE’s exports to Japan grew to $29.17 billion from $22.72 billion while those by Saudi Arabia grew to nearly $35.76 billion from about $29.2 billion in the same period.
Qatar recorded the highest increase in exports to Japan as they jumped by around 36 per cent to $21.6 billion from $15.9 billion because of higher crude prices and a rise in its LNG supplies to Japanese firms.
Kuwait’s exports to Japan also rose to around $10.24 billion from $8.99 billion while those of Oman and Bahrain increased to $4.48 billion and $06584 billion from $3.32 billion and $0.524 billon respectively.
The increase in the GCC’s overall exports to Japan widened the Gulf group’s trade surplus with the Asian nation by around 29 per cent to $82.5 billion in 2010 from around $63.9 billion in 2009, the figures showed.
Jetro gave no reason for the surge in the GCC’s exports to Japan but crude prices last year averaged nearly $15 above their $62 pride in 2009.
Massive oil supplies have kept the GCC-Japan trade balance largely in favour of the Gulf alliance, with the surplus peaking at nearly $117 billion in 2008 after crude prices peaked at an average of around $95 a barrel.
Japan gets more than 80 per cent of its oil needs from the GCC, Iran, Iraq and other Middle Eastern crude producers. Saudi Arabia and the UAE alone supply it with more than two million bpd, nearly half its total oil imports.
Besides crude, the GCC’s exports to Japan include aluminium, natural gas, LNG and petroleum products. Their imports from that country comprise mainly electronics, vehicles, machinery, and other industrial products.
The report showed the UAE, the largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia, was again the largest market for Japanese products last year, with its imports rising to $$7.3 billion from $6.49 billion in 2009.
Imports by Saudi Arabia rose to $6.45 billion from $5.39 billion while those by Kuwait grew to about $1.41 billion from $1.24 billion. Imports by Qatar shrank to nearly $1.13 billion from $1.62 billion while there was an increase in the imports of Oman and Bahrain from Japan, according to Jetro.
Overall trade between the two sides stood at $121.89 billion in 2010 against $98.2 billion in 2009, an increase of around 24.1 per cent.
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