GASTAT Reports Significant 21.7% Growth In Non-Oil Exports For September 2025

The General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT) released its International Trade in Goods bulletins for September 2025 and the third quarter of the same year. The data revealed a significant rise in non-oil exports, including re-exports, which increased by 21.7% compared to September 2024. National non-oil exports, excluding re-exports, also saw a modest increase of 2.8%.

Merchandise imports experienced a growth of 2.8%, enhancing the ratio of non-oil exports to imports to 42.5%, up from 35.9% the previous year. The trade balance surplus witnessed a substantial rise of 66.3% year-on-year. Electrical machinery, equipment, and parts were the top non-oil export commodities, making up 25.7% of the total, followed by chemical industry products at 22%.

In terms of imports, electrical machinery, equipment, and parts also led the way, comprising 30.5% of total imports. China maintained its position as Saudi Arabia’s leading trading partner in September 2025, accounting for 14.4% of total exports and supplying 28.2% of total imports.

The results for Q3 2025 highlighted continued growth in non-oil exports by 19.4% compared with the same period in 2024, although national non-oil exports slightly declined by 0.4%. Re-exported goods' value surged by 69.6%. Total goods exports rose by 9.5%, driven by a 5.5% increase in oil exports.

The share of oil exports in total exports decreased from 71.1% in Q3 2024 to 68.5% in Q3 2025. Goods imports grew by 7.5% year-on-year during this quarter, while the trade balance surplus increased by 17.2%. The ratio of non-oil exports to imports improved to reach 40.3%, compared with the previous year's figure of 36.3%.

Key Commodities and Trading Partners

Electrical machinery, equipment, and parts remained the leading non-oil export commodity for Q3, accounting for 26.9%, followed closely by chemical industry products at 21.4%. These items also topped import categories, representing a significant portion at 30%. China continued as Saudi Arabia's primary trading partner during this period as well.

The bulletin indicated that China accounted for a notable share of Saudi Arabia's trade activities in Q3, contributing to both export and import figures significantly with percentages standing at 14.9% for exports and supplying around 27.6% of total imports.

Overall, these statistics reflect robust growth trends in Saudi Arabia's international trade activities for both September and Q3 of 2025 across various sectors.

With inputs from SPA