Saudi non-oil exports jump as re-export value grows 20%

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports rose 5 percent year on year in April as re-export activity surged.

The increase helped offset a decline in home-produced non-oil exports, according to government data.

The General Authority for Statistics (Gastat) reported on Monday that national non-oil exports, which is domestically-made produce, fell just over 7 percent.

The value of re-exported goods increased 20 percent year on year.

Imports were down 5 percent.

China was the main destination for exports, accounting for 15 percent of the total, followed by the UAE and South Korea.

Imports from China made up 29 percent of Saudi Arabia’s total imports, followed by the UAE and the US.

Sixty nine percent of April’s exports were from oil sales, up 12 percent on the year before.

Despite oil prices nearly doubling to a peak of $120 due to the Iran war, reduced capacity meant the share of oil exports was only up slightly from 67 percent in April 2025.

The International Monetary Fund said earlier this month that robust economic fundamentals and a diversified infrastructure for the transport of crude oil and other goods are shielding Saudi Arabia from the worst impacts of the conflict.

Although the war dented confidence and economic momentum, the Gulf state’s low public debt, substantial reserves and sizeable financial buffers helped to limit the economic fallout, IMF mission chief for Saudi Arabia Azim Sadikov said.

Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector reported a resurgence in May, according to the latest monthly findings of the Riyad Bank Saudi Arabia Purchasing Managers’ Index, as domestic demand improved and supply chains stabilised.

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