Saudi Arabia exports at record high in 2007

A sharp rise in oil price boosted Saudi Arabia's total exports to a record high of more than $233bn in 2007 and the UAE was its top market in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, official figures showed yesterday.

Exports of crude, petrochemicals, oil products and other items climbed by nearly 11 per cent to their highest ever level of SR874.4bn ($233.2bn) in 2007 compared with SR791.3bn ($211bn) in 2006, showed the figures by the Gulf Kingdom's General Statistics and Information Authority.

The export value swelled to its highest level despite a decline of around five per cent in its volume to nearly 408,000 tonnes last year from 429,000 tonnes in 2006, said the report, which was published in the Saudi Aleqtisadiah daily.

Saudi economists attributed the surge in export value to a rise in crude prices, which climbed to a record high of around $70 a barrel in 2007 compared with nearly $60 in 2006 and around $52 in the previous year.

The decline in volume was caused mainly by a drop in the country's crude production to an average 8.8 million bpd from 9.2 million bpd.

The report showed crude oil sales accounted for nearly 80 per cent of Saudi Arabia's total exports, with their value peaking at SR700 billion ($186.6 billion) last year, an increase of SR66 billion ($17.6 billion) over 2006.

The US emerged as the top market for Saudi Arabia, with its imports standing at around SR147bn ($39.2bn) in 2007, accounting for nearly 17 per cent of the Kingdom's total exports.

Crude oil constitutes the bulk of Saudi Arabia's exports to the US, which has imported an average two million bpd of Saudi crude over the past few years, more than 15 per cent of the US's total crude imports.

Japan came second, with imports from Saudi Arabia standing at around 134

billion ($35.7bn) as the southeast Asian industrial giant is also a major importer of Saudi oil and petroleum products.

South Korea, another key buyer of Saudi crude, was the third largest market for the Kingdom's exports, with an import value of SR73 billion ($19.4bn).

In contrast with most other markets, Riyadh's exports to the European Union declined by around seven per cent to SR96bn ($25.6bn). The Netherlands and Italy were the top EU importers.

The report showed Saudi Arabia's exports to its five partners in the GCC surged by 21 per cent to SR71bn ($18.9bn) in 2007 to turn the group into the fourth largest importer from the Kingdom.

"The UAE was the top importer of Saudi Arabia's exports to the GCC countries last year," the report said without specifying the value.

Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and is home to nearly a quarter of the global proven crude deposits, with its reserves exceeding 265 billion barrels at the start of 2008.

Its gas wealth of nearly seven trillion cubic metres is also the fourth largest after that of Russia, Iran and Qatar.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.