That projected dollar amount results from an 8.8% upturn from $294.5 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, Saudi Arabia’s total exports sales accelerated by 19.8% compared to $267.5 billion during 2021.
Top Saudi Arabian exports include crude oil, refined petroleum oils and petroleum gas. Collectively, that trio of exported mineral fuels generated well over four-fifths (83.5%) of the Middle Eastern country’s international sales.
Saudi Arabia’s Largest Trading Partners
The latest prorated data shows that 64.2% of products exported from Saudi Arabia were bought by importers in: mainland China (15.1% of the Saudi total), United Arab Emirates (8.9%), India (8%), Turkey (5.5%), Singapore (5%), Belgium (4.5%), Egypt (4.1%), United States of America (3.7%), Jordan (2.8%), Kuwait (2.5%), South Korea (2.05%) and Malaysia (1.95%).
From a continental perspective, 68% of Saudi Arabia’s exports by value were delivered to Asian countries while 12% were sold to European importers. Saudi Arabia shipped another 11.9% worth of goods to Africa.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North American (3.9%), Latin America (2.8%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (1.4%) led by Australia and New Zealand.
Given Saudi Arabia’s population of 34.8 million people, its total $320.5 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $9,200 for every resident in the Middle Eastern country. That dollar metric exceeds the average $7,500 per person one year earlier in 2021.
Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Saudi global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Saudi Arabia.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$268.5 billion (83.8% of total exports)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $19.6 billion (6.1%)
- Organic chemicals: $14 billion (4.4%)
- Fertilizers: $4 billion (1.3%)
- Aluminum: $2.3 billion (0.7%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $1.75 billion (0.5%)
- Gems, precious metals: $1.4 billion (0.4%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $1.1 billion (0.3%)
- Copper: $977.2 million (0.3%)
- Rubber, rubber articles: $839.1 million (0.3%)
Saudi Arabia ’s top 10 export product categories accounted for 98.1% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Salt, sulphur, stone and cement was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 172.9% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was rubber both as materials and items made from rubber articles which was rose 65.7%
Saudi Arabia ‘s shipments of mineral fuels including oil recorded the third-fastest gain in value, up by 30.3% year over year. That product category was boosted by higher revenues from exported Saudi crude oil.
The leading decliner among the top 10 Saudi Arabian export categories was plastics both as materials and items made with plastics. That category depreciated by -16.9% compared to sales for 2021.
Products Driving Biggest Saudi Trade Surpluses
Saudi Arabia garnered an estimated $194.8 billion surplus in 2022, expanding by 69% from $115.2 billion in black ink one year earlier in 2021.
The following types of Saudi product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Mineral fuels including oil: US$265.1 billion (Up by 33.3% since 2021)
- Plastics, plastic articles: $16.1 billion (Down by -18.8%)
- Organic chemicals: $12.4 billion (Up by 3.5%)
- Fertilizers: $3.9 billion (Up by 10.9%)
- Aluminum: $1.4 billion (Up by 63.9%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $911.6 million (Up by 439.6%)
- Inorganic chemicals: $836.6 million (Down by -16.5%)
- Copper: $371.9 million (Reversing a -$1.45 billion deficit)
- Ores, slag, ash: $260 million (Down by -51.2%)
- Lead: $90.2 million (Up by 5.2%)
Saudi Arabia has positive net exports in the international trade of petroleum, first and foremost crude oil but also refined petroleum oils and petroleum gases. In turn, these cashflows indicate Saudi Arabia’s strong competitive advantages under the mineral fuels including oil category.
Products Causing Largest Saudi Trade Deficits
Below are exports from Saudi Arabia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Saudi Arabia’s goods trail Saudi importer spending on foreign products.
- Vehicles: -US$16.4 billion (Up by 8.2% since 2021)
- Machinery including computers: -$14.7 billion (Down by -8.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$10.2 billion (Down by -22%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$5.4 billion (Down by -17.6%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$3.7 billion (Up by 41.5%)
- Cereals: -$3.3 billion (Down by -2.7%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$3.2 billion (Down by -12.6%)
- Iron, steel: -$3 billion (Down by -27.7%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$2.8 billion (Down by -14.4%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$2.7 billion (Down by -1.3%)
Saudi Arabia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits cars, trucks and automotive parts or accessories under the vehicles product category.
Saudi Export Companies
Twenty Saudi corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. The following companies are selected examples of leading companies headquartered in Saudi Arabia.
- Petro Rabigh (diversified chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Fertilizers (specialized chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Mining (diversified metals, mining)
- Saudi Basic Industries (diversified chemicals)
- Savola Group (food processing)
Wikipedia also lists exporters from Saudi Arabia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Almarai (food processing)
- Petro Rabigh (diversified chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Fertilizers (specialized chemicals)
- Saudi Arabian Mining (diversified metals)
- Saudi Aramco (oil, gas)
- Saudi Basic Industries (diversified chemicals)
- Savola Group (food processing)
- Tasnee (petrochemicals)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following firms represent smaller exporters from Saudi Arabia.
- Al Abeiry PVC Hose Factory (tubes/pipes/hoses, building/monument granite, furniture)
- Batook Chewing Gum Industries (turpentine oils, menthol, wines)
- Saudi Aramco Oil (petroleum)
- Saudi Basic Industries (acyclic hydrocarbons, polyethylene)
- Yamama Granite Marble (building/monument granite, wooden boxes/cases/crates)
In macroeconomic terms, Saudi Arabia’s total exported goods in 2022 represent 14.9% of its overall Gross Domestic Product ($2.15 trillion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 14.9% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 15.3% for 2021, Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Saudi’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Saudi Arabia’s unemployment rate averaged 5.1% at January 2023, down from an average 6% for one year earlier according to statistics from Trading Economics.
Saudi Arabia’s capital city is Riyadh.
See also Saudi Arabia’s Top 10 Imports, China’s Top Trading Partners, India’s Top Trading Partners, Turkey’s Top Trading Partners and Singapore’s Top Trading Partners
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Middle East: Saudi Arabia. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Forbes 2022 Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 8, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 8, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Saudi Arabia. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Wikipedia, Saudi Arabia. Accessed on July 8, 2023
Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on July 8, 2023
