MUSCAT, DEC 18
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s (GCC) total merchandise value reached $1.146 trillion in 2021, compared to $840.7 billion in 2020, an increase of 36.4 per cent. GCC’s exports to its major trading partners recovered in 2021, after falling significantly in 2020.
The GCC’s total merchandise exports in 2021 amounted to $668.6 billion, an increase of 52.5 per cent compared to 2020. National exports originating from GCC countries amounted to $564.4 billion, an increase of 57.2 per cent compared to a year before.
Meanwhile, the value of re-exported goods was $104.2 billion, while the total merchandise exports reached $478 billion, an increase of 18.8 per cent.
According to data released by GCC Statistical Centre, the GCC’s merchandise balance surplus in 2021 reached $190.6 billion, an increase of 423.9 per cent compared to 2020 with $36.4 billion.
As for merchandise exports, oil and its products accounted for the lion’s share of GCC exports with 73.7 per cent amounting to $415.9 billion in 2021 compared to $252.2 billion in 2020, a growth rate of 64.9 per cent. Other commodity exports from the GCC include plastics and its products (5.9 per cent), gold and precious stones (5.4 per cent), organic chemical products (3.2 per cent) and aluminium and its products (2.9 per cent).
Meanwhile, machinery and electrical appliances accounted for 24 per cent of re-exported products from GCC in 2021 amounting to $25 billion compared to $20 billion in 2020. Other re-export products from the GCC include gold and precious stones (25 per cent), machinery and mechanical equipment (11.8 per cent), vehicles and vehicle parts (10.2 per cent) and oil and its products (4.8 per cent).
Gold and precious stones top the list of merchandise imports in GCC in 2021 amounting to $77.2 billion, an increase of 46 per cent compared to 2020. Other import products include machinery and electrical appliances (13.2 per cent), machines and automated equipment (11.6 per cent), vehicles and vehicle parts (9 per cent) and pharmaceutical products (3.4 per cent).
China ranked first as GCC’s top trading partner in 2021 in terms of total merchandise exports accounting to 19.5 per cent. Last year, GCC’s exports to China reached $130.6 billion, an increase of 83.9 per cent compared to 2020 with $71 billion.
India placed second as GCC’s top export partner with 13.9 per cent, followed by Japan (11.5 per cent) and South Korea (4.5 per cent). These countries are the largest importers of crude oil and natural gas from the GCC.
The GCC’s top trading partner in terms of total merchandise imports is China accounting for 20.6 per cent of the GCC’s total merchandise imports from global markets.
In 2021, the GCC imports $98.3 billion worth of products from China, an increase of 27.3 per cent compared to 2020 with $77.2 billion. Completing the list for GCC’s top trading partner in terms of total merchandise imports include the US (8.6 per cent), India (7.5 per cent), Japan (4.6 per cent) and Germany (4.2 per cent).
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