Kuwait import bill up 5.3% in Q3 of ’23

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KUWAIT CITY, Jan 7: Data from the Central Administration of Statistics indicates a 5.3% increase in Kuwait’s import bill during the third quarter of 2023, rising to 2.8 billion dinars compared to 2.6 billion dinars in the same period in 2022. However, the trade balance surplus declined by 28.3% to 3.8 billion dinars from 5.3 billion dinars in Q3 2022. In specific categories, Kuwait’s imports of telephone devices rose by 24.3% to 92.8 million dinars, while the gold import bill decreased by 36.4% to 78 million dinars in Q3 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. Cosmetic imports also saw a notable increase of 22.8%, reaching 26.7 million dinars.

In the realm of transportation and personal items, Kuwait imported motor vehicles worth 349 million dinars and jewelry and its parts totaling 70.3 million dinars, marking a 20.6% decline from Q3 2022. Meanwhile, imports of rice increased by 15.2% to 23.2 million dinars, and perfume imports surged by 44.1% to 18.6 million dinars.

The data also reveals a 17.1% decrease in the total value of Kuwait’s exports in Q3 2023, amounting to 6.64 billion dinars compared to 8.01 billion dinars in the same period of 2022. Notably, oil exports totaled about 6.2 billion dinars, down from approximately 7.5 billion dinars in Q3 2022. China secured the top spot in countries exporting goods to Kuwait in Q3 2023, contributing around 589 million dinars to Kuwait’s imports. The United Arab Emirates followed with exports worth 254 million dinars, and the United States of America ranked third with exports valued at 235 million dinars. Regarding Kuwaiti exports, the UAE took the lead with 83 million dinars, followed by India with 81 million dinars, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with 53 million dinars.

By Mahmoud Shendi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff

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