Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR28.2 billion in December 2022, an increase of about QR2.6 billion, or 10 percent, compared to December 2021, and an increase of nearly QR2 billion, or 7.6 percent, compared to November 2022.
The data of the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that Qatar’s total exports of goods including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports amounted to around QR 38.3 billion in December 2022, showing an increase of 7.6 percent compared to December 2021, and increase of 3.1 percent compared to November 2022.
On other hand, the imports of goods in December 2022 amounted to around QR10.1 billion, showing an increase of 1.4 percent compared to December 2021 and a decrease of 7.7 percent compared to November 2022.
The year-on-year increase in total exports was mainly due to higher exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons including LNG, condensates, propane, butane, and others reaching QR26.2 billion in December 2022, an increase of 12.9 percent, petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals (crude) reaching nearly QR5 billion, increasing by 12.8 percent, and decrease in the petroleum oils & oils from bituminous minerals (not crude) reaching 2.4 billion, 12.3percent.
In December 2022, China was at the top of the countries of destination of Qatar’s exports with close to QR8.4 billion, a share of 21.9 percent of total exports, followed by India with almost QR4.2 billion and a share of 11 percent, South Korea with about QR 3.9 billion, a share of 10.2 percent.
On year on year, the group of ‘Turbojets, turbopropellers & Other Gas Turbines; Parts Thereof” was at the top of the imported group of commodities with QR 0.9 billion, showing an increase of 3.5 percent.
In second place was “Motor Cars & Other Motor Vehicles for The Transport of Persons” with QR0.5 billion, showing an increase of 8.4 percent, and in third place was “Parts of Balloons Etc.; Parts of Aircraft, Spacecraft Etc.” with QR 0.3 billion, a decrease of 2 percent.
In December 2022, the United State of America was the leading country of origin of Qatar’s imports with about QR2 billion, a share of 19.7 percent of the imports, followed by China with almost QR1.4 billion, a share of 14.3 percent, and Italy with QR0.9 billion, a share of 9 percent.
