Qatar’s private sector has exported QR1.94bn worth of goods in March 2020, according to Qatar Chamber’s latest monthly economic newsletter, citing figures from the Planning and Statistics Authority.
The newsletter stated that the official export figures recorded in March saw a slight month-on-month (m-o-m) drop of 0.5% from QR1.95bn.
Topping the list of private sector exports is the essential and industrial oils group, which increased by 40% in March to reach QR777mn, followed by the aluminium group, which totalled QR374mn, falling 9.9% m-o-m.
Similarly, steel exports dropped 6.3% m-o-m to reach QR228mn; likewise, paraffin exports slipped 14.1% m-o-m to QR64mn. On the other hand, lutreine exports jumped by 7.4% to QR63mn, and helium and gas exports slightly rose 0.7% to QR33mn.
Chemical exports amounted to QR36mn, down 27.4% compared to QR50mn in February, while chemical substances exports totaled QR33mn in March, and is 21% lower compared to the previous month. Chemical fertilisers amounted to only QR202,000 against QR90mn recorded in February.
According to the report, exports through the General Model certificate of origin form have the largest value, amounting to QR817.1mn in March, decreasing 18% m-o-m.
This was followed by exports through GSP with a total value of about QR730mn or a 57% m-o-m increase, followed by exports of the GCC model with a value of QR346.2mn (down 18%), and the Unified Arab certificate with a value of QR50.2mn. There were no goods exported through the Unified GCC certificate of origin for exporting to Singapore, the report said.
Qatar Chamber’s newsletter reported that the total value of foreign merchandise trade for March 2020 amounted to QR24.2bn, showing a 16.6% m-o-m decrease from QR29bn.
The total exports in March, including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports, amounted to around QR15.9bn, while Qatari imports during the same month amounted to about QR8.3bn.
“Therefore, the foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR7.6bn, or a 44.1% decrease compared to QR13.6bn in February 2020,” the report said.
In March, Japan topped the countries of destination list for Qatar’s exports with close to QR2.45bn, or a 15.5% share of the total exports. This was followed by South Korea with QR2.37bn (or a 14.9% share of the total exports), and India with QR2.21bn (13.9 %). Next is China with QR2bn (12.6 %), and Singapore (QR0.948bn, 6%).
The US, on the other hand, was the leading country of origin for Qatar’s imports registering QR1.43bn, sharing 17.3% of the total imports worth QR8.3bn. This was followed by China (QR790mn or 9.5% share of total imports), Germany (QR677mn, 8.2%), the UK (QR601mn, 7.2%), and India (QR473mn, 5.7%).
Qatar Chamber said the newsletter also included highlights of the most prominent trends in the Qatari economy, as well as the preparedness of the private sector to implement the State’s strategies and economic development plans. It also highlighted the Ramadan speech delivered by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
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