The Qatari trade balance achieved a large surplus during October, amounting to 200%, on an annual basis.
Trade balance surplus is supported by the continuation of record growth in the value of exports, the improvement of economic conditions and the recovery from the Coronavirus pandemic, said Qatari Ministry of Planning and Statistics.
According to data from the Ministry of Planning, the trade balance recorded a surplus of 21.18 billion riyals ($5.85 billion).
The data showed that Qatar’s trade surplus rose on a monthly basis, by 10.9%, from 19.1 billion riyals ($5.3 billion) last September.
Qatari trade balance
Last month, Qatari exports rose by 96.4% to 30.09 billion riyals ($8.3 billion), from 27.898 billion riyals ($7.71 billion) in the comparable month of last year.
The data showed an increase in Qatari imports by 7.6% on an annual basis during last October to 8.9 billion riyals ($2.45 billion), from 8.27 billion riyals ($2.28 billion) in the corresponding month of 2020.
Meanwhile, the Qatari trade balance surplus was 7.05 billion riyals ($1.95 billion) in the same month of 2022.
The improvement in Qatar’s trade surplus reflects the recovery of the economy and the improvement in global demand for natural gas, which is witnessing record price hikes.
Qatar is also the world’s largest producer and exporter of liquefied natural gas, and is facing tough competition for market share with increased exports from major suppliers such as Russia, Australia and the United States.
In a related context, Qatar’s trade surplus achieved record growth this year, compared to last year.
Meanwhile, the Qatari newspaper, Al-Raya, said that the trade surplus grew by 110% in the first nine months of this year.
The surplus amounted to 144.2 billion riyals ($39.6 billion) compared to 68.7 billion riyals ($10.9 billion) for the same period last year 2020.
The trade surplus also achieved a growth of 54.4% compared to the whole of 2020, where the surplus amounted to 93.4 billion riyals ($25.6 billion).
The third quarter of this year was also the best compared to the previous two quarters, and the trade surplus in the third quarter amounted to 57.8 billion riyals, compared to 46.5 billion riyals in the second quarter, and 39.9 billion riyals in the first quarter.
