The Peninsula graphic
The exports from Qatar have witnessed consistent growth during the first quarter of the current year. Japan has secured top spot in terms of exports from Qatar during the first quarter. Export from Qatar to Japan, in the first three months of this year, reached QR10.64bn, according to the data from the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA).
China secured second place with exports amounting to QR10.5bn in the first quarter. South Korea secured third place in the ranking as total exports to the country stood at QR10bn in the first three months.
India came in fourth place with total exports from Qatar reached QR9bn in the first quarter. Total exports from Qatar to different countries were around QR64bn during the first quarter. So far this year, exports from Qatar have increased consistently.
In March 2021, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR22.1bn, showing an increase of 38.2 percent compared to March 2020, and increase of 7 percent compared to February 2021.
In January 2021, the total exports of goods stood at around QR21.3bn, an increase of 24.3 percent compared to December 2020. In February 2021, the total exports of goods amounted to around QR20.6bn, showing a decrease of 2.8 percent compared to February 2020.
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), mineral fuels, lubricants, related materials, chemicals and related products were the main exported goods from Qatar during the quarter. Asian countries have usually dominated when it comes to exports from Qatar.
Last year, in 2020, all five countries in the top five export destinations for Qatari exports were from Asia.
Japan emerged as a top destination for Qatari exports in 2020 as total exports to Japan during last year amounted to around QR29.11bn. China, India and South Korea were the other major destination for Qatari exports.
Exports had witnessed a volatile trend last year.
The exports had declined in April, 2020 due to lack of demand from importing countries due to the lockdown imposed by countries. However, the exports again began to see upward momentum after facing a slowdown due to impact of COVID-19 outbreak.
The last two quarters (third and fourth quarters) of last year were better than the second quarter in terms of exports. During the fourth quarter of 2020, the value of Qatar’s total exports (including exports of domestic goods and re-exports) amounted to QR49.1bn.
When compared on a quarterly basis, exports had risen by nearly QR8bn or 19.4 percent compared to the third quarter of 2020.
