Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports — including re-exports — jumped 21.7% in September 2025 compared to the same month in 2024, according to the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT). National non-oil exports excluding re-exports also posted modest growth of 2.8%.
The data, released in GASTAT’s International Trade in Goods bulletin for September and Q3 2025, showed a strong rise in re-export activity, with re-exported goods surging 72.2%. Overall goods exports rose 14%, supported by a 10.7% gain in oil exports. This reduced oil’s share of total exports to 68.4%, down from 70.4% a year earlier.
Imports grew 2.8%, helping lift the ratio of non-oil exports to imports to 42.5% versus 35.9% in September 2024. The trade surplus also widened by 66.3% year-on-year.
Electrical machinery and equipment led non-oil exports at 25.7% of the total, followed by chemical products at 22%. The same product group topped imports, making up 30.5% of inbound trade. China remained Saudi Arabia’s biggest trading partner, taking 14.4% of exports and supplying 28.2% of imports in September.
Q3 2025 figures similarly reflected strength in the non-oil sector, with non-oil exports up 19.4% year-on-year, though national non-oil exports dipped slightly by 0.4%. Re-exports surged 69.6%.
Total exports climbed 9.5% in the quarter, as oil exports gained 5.5%, reducing oil’s share of total exports to 68.5% from 71.1% a year earlier. Goods imports increased 7.5%, while the trade surplus improved 17.2%. The non-oil export-to-import ratio rose to 40.3% compared with 36.3% in Q3 2024.
Electrical machinery and equipment continued to dominate non-oil exports at 26.9%, followed by chemical products at 21.4%. These goods also remained the top import category at 30% of total imports. China again ranked as the Kingdom’s leading trade partner, accounting for 14.9% of exports and 27.6% of imports during the quarter.
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