Exports from Qatar continue to rise showing that country’s economy remains on growth path. A preliminary report on foreign trade by the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) has showed that export and import of Qatar has risen in September.
Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance, which is the difference between total exports and imports, surged to QR15.5bn in September this year, showing an increase of QR3.1bn or 25.6 percent compared to same month last year.
The value of Qatari exports (including exports of local origin and re-exports) amounted to QR26.8bn, showing an increase of 30.2 percent compared to the same month of last year and a rise of 1.5 percent from August this year.
The increase in the value of imports reached about QR11.4bn, showing an increase of 37 percent compared to the same period last year, and by 27.7 percent compared to August this year.
Confirming the positive momentum in the economy, a similar report, released by Qatar Chamber yesterday, stated that Qatar’s non-oil exports have reached QR18.03bn in the first nine months of 2018, reflecting a 36.5 percent year-on-year growth over QR13.02bn in the same period of 2017.
Non-oil exports in September 2018 reached QR1.64bn, a 4.6 percent increase compared to the QR1.57bn reported in September 2017, said the report.
According to the report, Japan was the top destination country for the exports of the State of Qatar in September with exports worth about QR4.7bn, or 17.5 percent of the total value of Qatari exports. Exports to South Korea were about QR4.2bn, or 15.7 percent while exports to India were about QR4bn, representing 15.1 percent of the total value of Qatari exports.
Export and imports by Qatar have shown consistent growth in the past months. Qatar’s trade balance, recorded a surplus of QR17.5bn for the month of August. This was QR5bn higher compared to the same period of last year, or 39.5 percent year-on-year (y-o-y). Sequentially, it represented a growth of QR0.6bn.
The month of August 2018 showed total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounting to around QR26.4bn, showing an increase of 23.3 percent compared to August 2017, and decreased by 0.7percent compared to July 2018.
On the other hand, the imports of goods in August 2018 amounted to around QR 8.9bn, showing an increase of 0.3 percent over August 2017. Qatar recorded a trade surplus of nearly 43 percent year-on-year in July.
The foreign merchandise trade balance showed a surplus of QR16.9bn in July, up QR5bn on the same period in 2017. Helped by the proactive policies of government, the growth momentum in country’s export is expected to continue in future.
