According to official statistics, Qatar’s trade surplus experienced a 3.5% month-on-month growth in April 2023, primarily driven by increased shipments of both crude and non-crude goods. The Planning and Statistics Authority reported that the robust expansion in shipments to South Korea played a significant role in the country’s merchandise trade surplus increase.
However, Qatar’s trade surplus in April 2023 showed a substantial decline of 35.6% on an annual basis as exports declined at a faster rate than imports. In April 2023, Qatar’s total exports of goods, including exports of domestic goods and re-exports, amounted to QR 30.69B. This represented a decline of 0.5% compared to the previous month and a significant decline of 29.4% compared to the same period in the previous year.
While exports of other commodities expanded by 6.7% on a monthly basis, reaching QR 3.65B in April 2023, exports of crude goods increased by 3.2% to QR 5.04B, and non-crude goods increased by 2.6% to QR 2.61B. On the other hand, exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons fell by 2.4% to QR 18.57B.
Looking at the yearly changes, exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons plummeted by 33.2%, non-crude goods by 29%, crude goods by 25.8%, and other commodities by 20.1% during the review period.
In April 2023, petroleum gases accounted for 62.19% of Qatar’s exports of domestic products, compared to 64.91% during the same period a year ago. Crude goods accounted for 16.88% (compared to 15.84% previously), non-crude goods for 8.74% (compared to 8.6% previously), and other commodities for 12.22% (compared to 10.65% previously).
Qatar’s exports to China amounted to QR 5.63B or 18.3% of the country’s total exports in April 2023. This was followed by shipments to South Korea with QR 5.11B (16.6%), India with QR 3.51B (11.4%), Singapore with QR 2.16B (7%), and Japan with QR 2.05B (6.7%).
Compared to the previous month, Qatar’s exports to South Korea increased by 4.8%, while exports to Japan declined by 18.19%, China by 12.11%, Singapore by 6.22%, and South Korea by 4.8% in April 2023.
On a yearly basis, Qatar’s exports to Japan experienced a significant decline of 54.89%, exports to India declined by 36.5%, exports to Singapore decreased by 25.44%, and exports to China decreased by 14.28%. However, exports to South Korea soared by 22.01% during the review period.
Qatar’s total imports, valued at cost insurance and freight, amounted to QR 8.69B in April 2023, showing a decrease of 9.3% compared to the previous month and a decrease of 6.3% compared to the previous year.
In April 2023, Qatar’s imports from the United States amounted to QR 1.28B, accounting for 14.7% of the country’s total imports. Imports from China were QR 1.13B (13%), from India QR 0.53B (6.1%), from Italy QR 0.47B (5.4%), and from Germany QR 0.42B (4.9%).
Compared to the previous month, Qatar’s imports from India decreased by 23.81%, from China by 22.66%, from Italy by 6.97%, and from the United States by 3.4%. However, imports from Germany increased by 9.3% in April 2023.
On a yearly basis, Qatar’s imports from the United States experienced a significant decline of 30.84%, imports from Germany decreased by 20.64%, imports from Italy declined by 18.64%, imports from India decreased by 12.29%, and imports from China decreased by 2.85% during the review period.
In April 2023, the group of “Motor Cars & Other Motor Vehicles for The Transport of Persons” was the top imported commodity group, amounting to QR 0.4B. This represented a 1.5% year-on-year decrease in the review period. In second place was the category of “Turbojets, Turbo propellers and Other Gas Turbines; Parts Thereof” with QR 0.36B, showing an annual contraction of 47.5%. In third place was the category of “Electrical Apparatus for Line Telephony/Telegraphy, Telephone Sets; Parts thereof” with QR 0.2B, indicating a 21.4% shrinkage in April 2023.
