AI Summary
Saudi Arabia’s merchandise imports rose 8% year-on-year (YoY) in May 2025 to almost SAR 80.9 billion, according to data issued by the General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Meanwhile, merchandise imports fell by 1%, or nearly SAR 567 million, month-on-month (MoM), as follows:
Imports of machinery and mechanical appliances, and electrical equipment and their parts topped in May, representing 30%, or SAR 24 billion of the total Saudi imports.
Vehicles, aircraft, vessels, and associated transport equipment came second at nearly 11%.
The table below shows details of Saudi imports in May by segment:
|
Imports by Segment in May 2025 (SAR bln) |
||||
|
Segment |
May 2024 |
May 2025 |
Change |
Change (%) |
|
Machinery and Mechanical Appliances; Electrical Equipment; Parts Thereof |
19.54 |
24.03 |
+4.49 |
+23% |
|
Vehicles, Aircraft, Vessels, and Associated Transport Equipment |
10.14 |
9.21 |
(0.93) |
(9%) |
|
Chemical Products |
7.02 |
7.65 |
+0.63 |
+9% |
|
Base Metals and Articles of Base Metal |
6.50 |
7.00 |
+0.50 |
+8% |
|
Metal Products |
4.02 |
4.85 |
+0.83 |
+21% |
|
Precious Stones or Metals and Articles Thereof; Jewelry |
3.76 |
4.07 |
+0.31 |
+8% |
|
Vegetable Products |
3.61 |
3.31 |
(0.30) |
(8%) |
|
Prepared Foodstuffs; Beverages, Tobacco |
3.38 |
3.20 |
(0.18) |
(5%) |
|
Animals, Product Thereof |
2.71 |
2.95 |
+0.24 |
+9% |
|
Plastics Rubber, and Articles Thereof |
2.67 |
2.78 |
+0.11 |
+4% |
|
Optical, Photographic, Other Instruments |
2.04 |
2.14 |
+0.11 |
+5% |
|
Artworks and antiquities |
1.85 |
2.02 |
+0.17 |
+9% |
|
Textiles and articles thereof |
1.78 |
2.01 |
+0.23 |
+13% |
|
Miscellaneous manufactured articles |
1.62 |
1.44 |
(0.18) |
(11%) |
|
Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof |
1.38 |
0.93 |
(0.45) |
(33%) |
|
Stone, plaster, cement, ceramics, and glass and articles thereof |
0.76 |
0.79 |
+0.03 |
+4% |
|
Paper and cardboard and articles thereof |
0.80 |
0.75 |
(0.04) |
(5%) |
|
Wood, cork, and wickerwork materials and articles thereof |
0.53 |
0.62 |
+0.09 |
+17% |
|
Animal or vegetable fats, oils, and waxes and their products |
0.45 |
0.52 |
+0.07 |
+15% |
|
Footwear, headgear, umbrellas, and walking sticks |
0.36 |
0.39 |
+0.03 |
+7% |
|
Hides, leather and articles thereof, bags and similar items |
0.20 |
0.28 |
+0.08 |
+37% |
|
Total |
75.10 |
80.93 |
+5.83 |
+8% |
Saudi Arabia’s imports came mainly from China in May, valued at SAR 23.4 billion or 29% of the total.
The US and the UAE followed with SAR 6.1 billion and SAR 5.1 billion, respectively.
The top 10 exporters to Saudi Arabia accounted for almost 68%, or SAR 54.7 billion, of the total imports in May, as shown below:
|
Top 10 Exporters to Saudi Arabia in May 2025 (SAR bln) |
||
|
Country |
Value |
% of imports |
|
China |
23.36 |
28.9% |
|
US |
6.05 |
7.5% |
|
UAE |
5.08 |
6.3% |
|
India |
3.70 |
4.6% |
|
Japan |
3.61 |
4.5% |
|
Germany |
3.55 |
4.4% |
|
Italy |
2.92 |
3.6% |
|
Switzerland |
2.64 |
3.3% |
|
Egypt |
2.01 |
2.5% |
|
France |
1.82 |
2.2% |
|
Other Countries |
26.20 |
32.4% |
|
Total |
80.93 |
100.0% |
Be the first to comment
Comments Analysis: