Trade balance sees year-on-year decline

KUWAIT CITY, Oct 25: Kuwait’s exports of July 2023 experienced significant growth, with a 37% increase from the previous month, totaling approximately 6.6 million dinars. This surge marks a substantial rise from the 18 million dinars recorded in June. These exports were distributed across various regions, including Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Arab nations, and European countries. Exports to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries reached around 17 million dinars, a remarkable 59.5% increase compared to June, accounting for 69% of total Kuwaiti exports in July.

Additionally, exports to Arab countries increased by 3% to 7.447 million dinars, constituting 30.3% of total exports. The value of exports to the European continent increased by 50% to 116 thousand dinars. However, exports to the African continent decreased by 69% to 10 thousand dinars. Meanwhile, exports to the Asian and Australian continents witnessed an impressive 143% growth, reaching 34 thousand dinars. The two American continents also experienced a substantial increase, with exports surging by 133% to 22 thousand dinars.

Trade balance
Kuwait’s trade balance surplus decreased by approximately 44.14% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2023, mainly due to declining exports. In the three months ending on June 30, Kuwait recorded a trade surplus of 3.24 billion dinars, compared to 5.80 billion dinars in the same period in 2022. The decline in Kuwait’s trade surplus was attributed to a 29.25% decrease in exports during the second quarter of this year, amounting to 6.12 billion dinars compared to 8.65 billion dinars in the previous year. The decline in export revenues was mainly influenced by the 30.93% reduction in the exports of oil and its basic derivatives, which reached 5.65 billion dinars during Q2 2023.

This figure was the lowest since Q4 2021 when it amounted to 5.62 billion dinars. During the first half of 2023, Kuwait’s total exports saw a decrease, amounting to 12.7 billion dinars. This marked a drop of 3.12 billion dinars compared to the same period in 2022, with the majority of the decline attributed to reduced revenues from oil and derivative exports, amounting to 3.14 billion dinars. The trade balance for Kuwait recorded about 6.88 billion dinars, with 3.63 billion dinars during the first quarter of the year and 3.24 billion dinars during the second quarter. The total trade exchange with Kuwait reached approximately 18.5 billion dinars, with 9.56 billion dinars recorded in the first quarter and 8.98 billion dinars in the second quarter.

By Ahmad Fathi
Al-Seyassah/Arab Times Staff