The merchandise trade balance of the State of Qatar, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, achieved a surplus of 9.1 billion Qatari riyals during the month of November 2020, recording a decrease of 3.4 billion Qatari riyals, or 27.4 percent compared to the same month of the previous year, and an increase of Approximately 2.0 billion Qatari riyals, or 28.6 percent, compared to October of this year.
The Planning and Statistics Authority stated in its preliminary report on the state’s foreign trade, that the value of Qatari exports (which includes exports of local origin and re-exports) amounted to approximately 16.6 billion Qatari riyals in November this year, a decrease of 25.1 percent compared to November last year. And an increase of 8.3 percent compared to October 2020.
On the other hand, the value of merchandise imports decreased during the month of November of the current year, to reach about 7.5 billion Qatari riyals, a decrease of 22.1 percent compared to November of last year, and a decrease of 8.9 percent compared to October 2020.
In comparison between November 2020 and the same month of the previous year, the value of exports of “oil gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons”, which represent (liquefied natural gas, condensate, propane, butane, etc.) decreased by 32.2 percent to reach about 9.5 billion Qatari riyals, and the value decreased. “Petroleum oils and oils of raw continental mineral materials” by 41.0 percent to reach approximately 2.5 billion Qatari riyals, while the value of exports of “petroleum oils and oils obtained from non-raw continental mineral materials” increased by 29.6 percent to reach about 1.4 billion Qatari riyals .
Japan ranked first in Qatar’s exports in November 2020, with a value of approximately 3.0 billion Qatari riyals, or 18.0 per cent of the total value of Qatari exports, followed by China with a value of approximately 2.7 billion Qatari riyals, or 16.5 per cent of the total value of exports. Then South Korea, with a value of approximately 2.3 billion Qatari riyals, or 13.9 percent.
The group of “jet turbines and propellers, other gas turbines and parts thereof” came to the top of the list of commodity imports, with a value of 0.4 billion Qatari riyals, a decrease of 62.2 per cent, followed by a group of “cars and other automobile vehicles designed mainly to transport people” by about 0.3 billion Qatari riyals, a decrease of 27.8%, followed by the group of “ordinary aircraft parts or helicopters”, which amounted to approximately 0.2 billion Qatari riyals, a decrease of 47.7%.
China ranked first in the countries of origin in terms of imports to the State of Qatar during the month of November this year, with a value of approximately 1.2 billion Qatari riyals, or 15.3 percent of the total value of merchandise imports, then the United States of America with a value of 1.0 billion Qatari riyals, or 13.8 percent, followed by India with a value of 0.5 billion Qatari riyals, or 6.5 percent.
