Qatar’s trade surplus has been rising consistently over the past few months which demonstrate the strength of country’s economy. According to the figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority, Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR16.6bn, showing an increase of about QR11.3bn or 211.4 percent compared to May 2020. The surplus increased by nearly QR3.8bn or 29.9 percent compared to April 2021.
In May 2021, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR24.9bn, showing an increase of 87.8 percent compared to May 2020, and increase of 18.9 percent compared to April 2021.
On other hand, the imports of goods in May 2021 amounted to around QR8.3bn, showing an increase of 4.7 percent compared to May 2020 and increase of 1.7 percent compared to April 2021.
The positive growth indicates that the Qatari economy has witnessed a remarkable recovery from the negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic which has spread throughout the world and prompted most countries to impose strict preventive measures including partial or entire closure.
The rising trend in the trade surplus has also been witnessed in the past months. Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance showed a surplus of QR12.8bn, reflecting an increase of about QR8.4bn or 194.1 percent compared to April 2020. In April 2021, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR21bn, showing an increase of 77.1 percent compared to April 2020, and decrease of 5 percent compared to March 2021. The imports of goods in April 2021 amounted to around QR8.2bn, showing an increase of 9.2 percent compared to April 2020, and decrease of 8 percent compared to March 2021.
In March 2021, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR 22.1bn, showing an increase of 7.3 percent compared to QR20.6bn in February.
The volume of the private sector exports in March 2021 reached QR1.938bn, showing a month-on-month increase of 17.9 percent compared to QR1.64bn in February.
According to the figures released by the Qatar Chamber, the total volume of private sector exports during the first quarter of 2021 (from January to March) reached QR5.08bn.
The continuous increase in trade surplus and exports has showed the ability of Qatar’s economy to overcome the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
