Saudi Arabia recorded a merchandise trade surplus of SR14.36 billion ($3.83 billion) in July, representing a 25 percent decline compared to July 2025, according to preliminary government data published by the Saudi General Authority for Statistics (GASTAT).
Total merchandise exports dropped 17.2 percent year-on-year to SR84.38 billion ($22.5 billion), while imports declined 15.4 percent to SR70.02 billion ($18.7 billion). Oil remained the anchor of Saudi foreign sales, accounting for 71 percent of all exports, while non-oil shipments and re-exports registered notable declines.
Egypt stood out as Saudi Arabia's foremost African trading partner and the only African nation among the kingdom's top 10 trade destinations and sources. Saudi Arabia's top 10 export destinations—which included China, the United Arab Emirates, Japan, South Korea, India, the United States, Poland, Malta, Taiwan, and Egypt—accounted for 67.2 percent of overall merchandise exports.
On the import side, China, the United States, Switzerland, Germany, the UAE, India, Italy, France, Japan, and Egypt collectively supplied 64.7 percent of incoming shipments to the kingdom.
The report highlighted that Saudi Arabia has increasingly utilized Red Sea maritime corridors and its East-West pipeline to maintain export momentum and offset shipping disruptions across Gulf waterways and the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources
- Business Insider Africa · 2026-09-25
