29-06-2022
The Planning and Statistics Authority issued its preliminary report on foreign trade statistics for the month of May 2022. The report includes data on exports (of local origin and re-exports) and imports. The following is a brief presentation of the data:
During the month of May 2022, the value of the total Qatari exports (which includes exports of local origin and re-exports) amounted to approximately 45.3 billion Qatari riyals, an increase of 81.9% compared to May 2021, and an increase of 4.3% compared to April 2022.
On the other hand, the value of merchandise imports increased during May 2022, reaching about 8.8 billion Qatari riyals, an increase of 5.5% compared to May 2021, and a decrease of 5.6% compared to April 2022.
In light of this, the merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports during the month of May 2022, achieved a surplus of 36.6 billion Qatari riyals, registering an increase of 20.0 billion Qatari riyals, or 120.1% compared to the same month of the previous year 2021 and an increase of approximately 2.4 billion Qatari riyals, or 7.0%, compared to April 2022.
Comparing between May 2022 and May 2021, the value of exports of "oil gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons", which represent (liquefied natural gas, condensate, propane, butane, etc..) increased to about 30.3 billion Qatari riyals, by 116.2%, and the value of " Petroleum oils and oils of bituminous mineral raw materials” rose to reach approximately QR 5.6 billion, or 39.5%. The value of exports of "petroleum oils and oils obtained from non-crude bituminous minerals" increased to about QR 3.3 billion, or 36.5%.
In terms of exports according to the main destination countries, China ranked first in the countries of destination for Qatar's exports during the month of May 2022 with a value of approximately QR 7.0 billion, or 15.5% of the total value of Qatari exports, followed by India with a value of approximately QR 5.4 billion, or a percentage of 11.9% of the total value of exports, followed by the United Kingdom, with a value of approximately 4.7 billion Qatari riyals, or 10.3%.
By comparing the month of May 2022 and May 2021, the group of "cars and other vehicles mainly designed to transport people" came at the top of the list of merchandise imports, with a value of 0.4 billion Qatari riyals, a decrease of 6.7%, followed by the group of "electrical devices for telephones or the wired telegraph, including the devices that transmit the network, and its parts”, with a value of 0.257 billion Qatari riyals, an increase of 24.2%, and a group of “other parts for regular aircraft or helicopters,” which amounted to approximately 0.254 billion Qatari riyals, with an increase of 38.0%.
In terms of imports according to the main countries of origin, China ranked first in the countries of origin for the imports of the State of Qatar during the month of May 2022 with a value of approximately 1.3 billion Qatari riyals, or 15.3% of the total value of merchandise imports, then the United States of America with a value of 0.9 billion Qatari riyals, or 10.8 %, followed by India with a value of 0.6 billion Qatari riyals, or 6.7%.