Oman-UK bilateral trade jumps 31% to RO 550m

MUSCAT, FEB 26

Bilateral trade between the Sultanate of Oman and the United Kingdom soared 31.5 per cent to £1.2 billion (RO 0.550 billion approx.) at current prices for the 12 months to the end of Q3 2022, according to the UK Department for International Trade.

British exports to Oman amounting to £915 million (RO 420.1 million) accounted for the dominant share of two-way trade during this period — representing an increase of 39.5 per cent over the period 12 months.

Omani exports to the UK, on the other hand, amounted to £245 million (RO 112.5m), with an increase of 8.4 per cent over the previous 12 months to the end of Q3 2021, the Department stated in its latest ‘Trade & Investment’ factsheet.

Significantly, the export of services accounted for more than half of British exports to Oman during the period under review. The Department for International Trade explained: “Of all UK exports to Oman in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, £434 million (47.4 per cent) were goods and £481 million (52.6 per cent) were services.

In the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, UK exports of goods to Oman increased by 17.9 per cent or £66 million compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021 while UK exports of services to Oman increased by 67.0 per cent or £193 million compared to the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021.”

The five top goods exported from the UK to Oman fell in the following broad categories: Mechanical power generators (intermediate), accounting for 23.5 per cent of total exports; General industrial machinery (capital), with an 8.4 per cent share; Cars (8.4 per cent); Medicinal & pharmaceutical products (6.6 per cent); and General industrial machinery (intermediate) 4.9 per cent.

On the flipside, goods flowing from Oman to the UK were broadly classified as follows: Mechanical power generators (intermediate) with a 39.9 per cent share of total goods imports; Plastics in non-primary forms (5.5 per cent), Iron & steel (5.2 per cent); Road vehicles other than cars (intermediate) (5.0 per cent), and Plastics in primary forms (4.5 per cent).

Data for trade in services exported from the UK to Oman was not made available by UK sources, the Department noted.

Notably, the total trade surplus enjoyed by the UK continued to grow, according to the Department, from £430 million (RO 197 million) in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021 to £670 million (RO 307.6 million in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022.

“In the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, the UK had a trade in goods surplus of £276 million with Oman, compared to a trade in goods surplus of £199 million in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021.

Meanwhile, in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022 the UK reported a trade in services surplus of £394 million with Oman, compared to a trade in services surplus of £231 million in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2021,” the Department added.

Of late, Oman and the UK have sought to add new momentum to their bilateral relationship through initiatives designed to deepen cooperative ties notably in Foreign Direct Investment, renewables, green hydrogen, finance, and space, among other sectors.