File photo used for representation only
Qatar's trade surplus has maintained growing trend in the first five months of the current year, driven by a consistent rise in exports. During the first five months of 2022, the foreign merchandise trade balance or surplus of Qatar reached QR145.4bn.
Foreign merchandise trade balance is the difference between total exports and imports.
According to preliminary figures released by the Planning and Statistics Authority, Qatar’s foreign merchandise trade balance showed a surplus of QR36.6bn in May 2022, registering an increase of about QR20bn or 120.1 percent compared to the corresponding period last year (May 2021). When compared month-on-month (M-o-M), the surplus increased by nearly QR2.4bn or 7.0 percent compared to April 2022.
In May 2022, the total exports of goods including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports amounted to around QR45.3bn, showing an increase of 81.9 percent compared to the month of May 2021, and an increase of 4.3 percent compared to April 2022.
Qatar’s trade surplus registered a surplus of QR34.2bn in April 2022, recording an increase of about QR21.4bn or 167.3 percent compared to the corresponding period last year (April 2021). When compared month-on-month, the surplus increased by nearly QR7.5bn or 28.1 percent compared to March
2022.
In April 2022, the total exports of goods including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports amounted to around QR43.5bn, showing an increase of 107.4 percent compared to April 2021, and an increase of 18.4 percent compared to March 2022.
Qatar recorded a merchandise trade surplus of QR74.6bn in the first quarter (January, February and March) of 2022 (Q1 2022), an increase of 87 percent from QR39.9bn during the corresponding period in the previous year (Q1 2021).
During the first quarter of 2022, the value of Qatar’s total exports including exports of domestic goods and re-exports amounted to QR103.8bn, which has increased by QR39.8bn (62.2 percent) compared to QR64.0bn in Q1 2021. When compared on quarterly basis, exports have risen by nearly QR3.8bn or 3.8
percent compared to Q4 2021.
During the first quarter of 2022, Asia was the principal destination of Qatar’s exports and the first origin of Qatar’s imports, representing 75.5 percent and 41.3 percent respectively, followed by the European Union, accounting for 14.4 percent and 28.5 percent respectively, and GCC, with 5.4 percent and 5.8 percent respectively.
