The total value of Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade in June 2020 stood at QR19.6bn, reflecting a 9.8% growth from QR19.3bn in April this year, according to Qatar Chamber’s latest monthly economic newsletter.
The August 2020 issue of the chamber’s newsletter cited figures from the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA) about the total value of Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade in June 2020, and the private sector’s exports according to certificates of origin issued by the chamber.
The total exports of goods in June, including those of domestic origin and re-exports, amounted to QR12.7bn, while imports during the same month stood at around QR6.9bn.
“Therefore, the foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR5.8bn, recording an increase of 7.4% compared to QR5.4bn in May,” the newsletter stated.
The newsletter reported that China was Qatar’s largest trade partner in June 2020 with trade exchange volume close to QR3.2bn, or a 16.3% share of Qatar’s total foreign trade.
Similarly, the private sector’s exports in June showed a rebound in the national economy for the second month in a row, witnessing a significant month-on-month (m-o-m) increase of 60% from QR609mn in May 2020 to QR973mn in June.
Exports through the GCC model certificate of origin form have the largest value in June, increasing 93% m-o-m, while the lowest was the Unified Arab certificate which increased by only 19%, the newsletter stated.
On private sector exports of in the first half of the year, “it is obvious that they have steadily improved, recording a 70% growth compared to 47% in April, which was the lowest value due to the precautionary measures to face the pandemic of coronavirus,” it further reported.
Paraffin exports increased by 160% from QR29mn in May to QR74mn in June and exports of chemical substances increased by 136% to reach QR95mn in June compared to QR40mn in May, while aluminium exports increased 99% from QR160mn in May to QR318mn in June.
In June 2020, India topped the list of countries of destination for private sector exports with close to QR247mn, or a 25.4% share of the total exports. It was followed by Oman with almost QR174mn (17.9% share), Turkey with about QR79mn (8.1%), Sweden (QR71mn, 7.3%), and The Netherlands (QR40mn, 4%).
