Qatar's merchandise trade balance surplus (the difference between total exports and imports) jumped during 2021 by 130.7% to reach 215.6 billion riyals ($59.2 billion), compared to 93.4 billion riyals ($25.6 billion) in 2020.
According to the Qatar Planning and Statistics Authority on annual merchandise foreign trade statistics, the value of Qatari exports, including exports of local goods and re-exports, last year amounted to 317.4 billion riyals (about 87 billion dollars), an increase of 129.9 billion riyals ($35.6 billion), or 69.3 percent, compared to 2020, which recorded total exports of 187.5 billion riyals ($51.5 billion).
The agency attributed the main reason for the rise in total exports to the increase in exports of mineral fuels, lubricants, and similar materials, with a value of 114.5 billion riyals, or 74.7 percent, and chemicals and their products, with a value of 11 billion riyals, or 60.4%, manufactured goods classified by material with a value of 2.6 billion riyals, or 47.5 percent, inedible raw materials, excluding fuel, with a value of two billion riyals, or 662%, and machinery and transportation equipment with a value of 1.6 billion riyals, or 23.1 percent.
Source (Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)
