Muscat,
The Sultanate of Oman’s trade balance recorded a surplus of RO 2.989 billion by the end of May 2024, compared to a surplus of RO 2.986 billion during the same period of 2023, according to preliminary statistics issued by the National Center for Statistics and Information.
The statistics indicate that the value of commodity exports by the end of May 2024 recorded RO 9.689 billion, an increase of 5% over the same period of the previous year, when it was RO 9.224 billion, while the value of commodity imports to the Sultanate of Oman amounted to RO 6.700 billion, an increase of 7.4% by the end of May 2024 compared to the same period last year, which amounted to RO 6.238 billion.
The increase in the value of exports is mainly attributed to the increase in value of the Sultanate of Oman’s oil and gas exports to RO 5.937 billion, an increase of 1.8% compared to the end of May 2023, which amounted to RO 5.833 billion.
Among oil and gas exports by the end of May 2024, the value of the Sultanate of Oman’s crude oil exports amounted to RO 4.297 billion, recording an increase of 7.6% over the same period of the previous year, and the value of refined oil exports decreased to RO 579 million, a decline of 8.7%. The value of the Sultanate of Oman’s liquefied natural gas exports decreased to RO 1.061 billion, a decrease of 12%, compared to the end of May 2023.
Statistics revealed an increase in the value of non-oil commodity exports increase by 11.2% by the end of May 2024, to reach RO 3.045 billion, compared to the end of May 2023, when it recorded RO 2.737 billion. Mineral products had the highest value of non-oil commodity exports, amounting to RO 1.101 billion, an increase of 23.1% over the same period in 2023, followed by Base metals and their articles with RO 560 million, an increase of 8.9%, then products of chemical with an export value of RO 435 million, a decrease of 7%.
The value of the Sultanate of Oman’s exports of plastics and rubber increased to RO 399 million, an increase of 13.5%, and exports of live animals and animal products increased by 2.5%, reaching RO 149 million, and the value of exports of other products amounted to RO 401 million.
The value of re-exports from the Sultanate of Oman increased to RO 707 million, an increase of 8.1% by the end of May 2024, compared to the end of May 2023.
The value of re-exports in transportation equipment products recorded RO 188 million, a decrease of 0.5%, and electrical machinery & equipment recorded RO 165 million, an increase of 2%. In foodstuffs; beverage and tobacco, the value of re-exports increased by 13.7% to record RO 66 million, while the re-export of mineral products recorded a value of RO 66 million, an increase of 56.2%. The value of re-exports of live animals & animal products decreased to RO 53 million, by 14.8%, while the value of other products amounted to RO 169 million.
In contrast, mineral products had the largest value of commodity imports to the Sultanate of Oman, recording RO 1.967 billion by the end of last May, an increase of 13.7%, followed by electrical machinery & equipment with a value of RO 1.121 billion, recording a growth of 18.5% by the end of May 2024, then base metals and their articles with a value of RO 643 million, a decrease of 2.3%.
Imports of products of chemical recorded a value of RO 601 million, a decrease of 5.8%, and transportation equipment with RO 574 million, an increase of 2.4%.
The United Arab Emirates topped trade exchange operations in non-oil exports by the end of May 2024 with a value of RO 395 million, an increase of 15.1% from the end of May 2023, as well as trade exchange operations in re-exports from the Sultanate of Oman, where the value of re-exports to it amounted to RO 244 million and the countries exporting to the Sultanate of Oman, with a value of RO 1.582 billion.
