Saudi exports increased by 3.9% and imports declined during May 2026

Saudi exports rose by 3.9% in May 2026, or 3.9% on an annual basis, while petroleum exports rose by 19.5%, representing 75.6% of total exports, according to the General Authority for Statistics.
According to the International Trade in Goods Bulletin for May 2026, imports decreased by 19.5%, so the surplus rose on an annual basis by 328.8%.

Non-oil exports

During the month of May 2026, (including re-exports) recorded a decrease of 26.1% compared to the same month in the previous year. In contrast, national non-petroleum exports (excluding re-exports) decreased by 27.3%, while the value of re-exports decreased by 24.4% in the same period, as a result of a decrease in “machinery, appliances, electrical equipment and their parts” by 32.4% (representing 46.2% of total re-exports).

Non-oil exports to imports

According to data from the Statistics Authority, the ratio of non-oil exports (including re-exports) to imports decreased in May 2026, reaching 33.8% compared to 36.8% in the same month of the previous year. This is a result of a decrease in non-oil exports by 26.1%, compared to a decrease in imports by 19.5% during the same period.

The most important non-oil exports

Machinery, appliances, electrical equipment and their parts represented the most important non-petroleum exports, as they constituted 22% of the total non-petroleum exports, and they decreased by 31.6% compared to the month of May 2025, followed by plastics, rubber and their products (representing 17.6% of the total non-petroleum exports), which decreased by 28.2% from the month of May 2025.
On the other hand, the most important imported goods were machinery, appliances, electrical equipment and their parts, which constitute 26.4% of total imports, and decreased by 28% from May 2025, then metal products, which constitute 11.9% of total imports, and increased by 65.7% from the same period of the previous year.

Most important business partners

China was the main destination for Saudi Arabia’s merchandise exports, which constituted 12.3% of total exports in May 2026, followed by South Korea with 9.6%, then the United Arab Emirates with 7.5% of total exports. India, Japan, Egypt, Malta, Singapore, Poland, and Taiwan were among the top 10 countries to which the Kingdom exported, and the total of the Kingdom’s exports to those ten countries amounted to 63.3% of the total. Exports.

China also ranked first for Saudi merchandise imports, which accounted for 22% of total imports in May 2026, followed by the United States of America with 10.7%, then Egypt with 8.4% of total imports.
The United Arab Emirates, India, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, France, and the Russian Federation were among the top 10 countries from which the Kingdom imported, and the total value of the Kingdom’s imports from those ten countries amounted to 69% of total imports.

Customs ports

Jeddah Islamic Port is one of the most important ports through which goods crossed into Saudi Arabia, which is equivalent to 35.7% of total imports in May 2026, followed by the other main ports: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with 15.9%, followed by King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah with 11.8%, then King Fahd International Airport in Dammam with 5.6%, then Al Batha Port with 4.8%.

These five ports accounted for 73.8% of the Kingdom’s total merchandise imports, while Jeddah Islamic Port was the most important port for the Kingdom’s non-oil exports in May 2026, as 24.4% of the total non-oil exports were exported from this port, followed by King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with 13.7%, then King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah with 12.7%, then Al Batha Port with 13.7%. 9.7%, and finally Yanbu Commercial Port by 4.7%.
These five ports accounted for 65.2% of the total non-oil merchandise exports to Saudi Arabia.