Qatar’s private sector exports exceeded the QR10bn mark in the first eight months of the year, according to Qatar Chamber’s monthly economic newsletter for October 2020.
The newsletter also reported that private sector trade figures in August 2020 reached QR929mn, according to the certificates of origin issued by Qatar Chamber.
Prepared by the chamber’s Research and Studies Department, the report cited figures for August 2020 from the Planning and Statistics Authority. It stated that the total value of foreign merchandise trade amounted to QR21.1bn, or a 0.5% growth, compared to the QR21bn recorded in July 2020.
In August 2020, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR14bn, or a 2.9% increase, compared to QR13.6bn recorded in July. Imports during the same month amounted to around QR7.1bn, or a 4.1% decrease, compared to QR7.4bn in July.
The country’s trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR6.9bn or an 11.3% increase in August 2020 compared to QR6.2bn in July.
The report stated that China topped the list of the countries of destination for Qatar’s foreign trade with about QR3.5bn in August 2020, or a 16.6% share, of Qatar’s total foreign trade.
During the same period, India topped the list of the countries of destination for the private sector’s exports amounting to around QR299mn, which is a 32.1% share of the total exports.
This was followed by Oman with almost QR173mn, or an 18.6%, share, and Turkey with QR94mn or a 10.1% share. The Netherlands ranked fourth in the list with almost QR76mn (or 8.1% share), followed by Singapore (QR50mn, 5.3%), Hong Kong (QR39mn, 4.1%), and Kuwait (QR33mn, 3.4%).
The newsletter also noted that Qatar has adopted the “free economy approach” that limits the State’s direct intervention in certain mechanisms of the market.
Amid the Covid-19 crisis, the State of Qatar has strived to protect the economy and maintain its stability to ensure that the necessary goods and services are provided to the public at reasonable prices. At the same time, the State is seeking to remove all obstacles facing producers, and encourages them to increase production of commodities and services, the report stated.
