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Riyadh: UAE tops other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states in the import of non-oil products from Saudi Arabia during the first quarter of 2008, according to a report released by Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Economy and Planning.
UAE was followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
The report noted that the value of Saudi Arabia's non-oil exports in the first quarter increased 21 per cent to 29.6 billion Saudi riyals compared with 24.2 billion riyals during the same period last year.
GCC states led the group of countries in importing Saudi products with non-Arab and non-Muslim Asian countries finishing second. They were followed by Arab countries and the European Union.
Petrochemical products constituted a major chunk of Saudi exports to these countries in the first quarter of the year. They were followed by plastics, ordinary minerals and their products.
The report showed that the value of Saudi imports in the first quarter rose 22 per cent to 93.70 billion riyals against 76.55 billion riyals in the same period last year.
Saudi Arabia imported 12,983,000 tonnes of goods in the first quarter compared with 12,288,000 tonnes in the same period last year. Equipment, machinery and electrical appliances ranked first among imported goods followed by transport equipment, foodstuff, ordinary minerals and their products.
US imports
The US ranked first among countries from which Saudi Arabia imported goods in the first quarter. China comes next followed by Japan and Germany.
Regarding the bilateral trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and GCC states, the report pointed out that the value of goods imported by Saudi Arabia from other GCC states increased eight per cent to 3.68 billion riyals in the first quarter compared with 3.42 billion riyals in the same period last year.
The value of exports of Saudi locally produced non-oil goods to GCC states in the first quarter rose 36 per cent to 7.74 billion riyals compared with 5.71 billion riyals in the same period last year.
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