GCC Achieves Sixth Place Globally In Goods Trade Volume According To GCC-Stat Report

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Foreign Trade Report for 2023, released by the Statistical Centre for the Cooperation Council for the Arab Countries of the Gulf (GCC-Stat), underscores the region's vital role in global trade. The GCC ranked sixth worldwide in goods trade volume, making up 3.4% of global trade. In 2023, the region's trade volume hit $1.5 trillion, marking a 4% drop from 2022.

In terms of merchandise trade balance, the GCC secured third place globally in 2023 with a value of $163.7 billion. This was a significant decline from $381.3 billion in 2022, representing a decrease of 57.1%. The GCC stood fifth globally in commodity exports, contributing 3.1% to the global total with exports valued at $0.8 trillion in 2023, which was a reduction of 14.5% from the previous year.

Conversely, the GCC ranked ninth in total merchandise imports, accounting for 2.7% of global imports at $0.7 trillion in 2023, reflecting a rise of 13.4% from the prior year. Oil exports from GCC countries fell by 20.5% to $525.5 billion in 2023 compared to $661.1 billion in 2022.

Main Trading Partners

China emerged as the leading trading partner for the GCC in terms of commodity trade volume index for 2023, with a value reaching $297.9 billion, significantly ahead of India at $150.4 billion—a difference of $147.6 billion. China also topped the list as the main destination for GCC commodity exports, importing 19.2% of total Gulf exports valued at $158.3 billion in 2023, down from $190.4 billion in 2022.

The report highlighted that China's role extended to being the primary source for GCC's merchandise imports as well, exporting 21.2% of these imports valued at $139.6 billion in 2023 compared to $126 billion in 2022—an increase of 10.8%.

Overall, while there was a notable decline in oil exports and commodity exports decreased significantly, there was an increase in imports within the GCC region during this period.

With inputs from WAM