Doha: Normalisation of relations between Qatar and its neighbours have boosted its trade with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.
After the Al Ula Summit and declaration of Gulf reconciliation in January last year, the trade volume between Qatar and GCC has jumped around 160 percent at the end of third quarter compared to the end of first quarter of 2021.
According to the figures from the Planning and Statistics Authority (PSA), the trade volume between Qatar and GCC was QR3.39bn during the first quarter of last year which soared to QR8.79bn during the third quarter of 2021.
The trade momentum between the countries is so strong that the trade volume during the first three quarter is more than the total trade volume during the entire 2020. The total trade volume between Qatar and GCC was around QR13.1bn during 2020 while it is QR19.1bn for the first three quarters of 2021.
The trade volume between Qatar and GCC has shown a rising trend during last year. The volume of trade between Qatar and GCC was QR3.39bn during the first quarter of last year which increased to QR6.95bn during the second quarter of last year.
There is still huge potential for growth in Qatar-GCC trade volume. The last year’s trade volume does not reflect the full potential of bilateral trade as COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the economic activities in GCC countries. The impact of pan-demic is likely to decline in this year due to further increase in the vaccination rate. Also, the economies of GCC countries are set to witness an increased pace of recovery, which will give further boost to trade between Qatar and GCC countries.
During the third quarter of last year, the exports from Qatar to GCC countries were around QR7.9bn while total imports were QR846m.
The total exports during the second quarter of last year were QR6.1bn while the imports were QR807m. The total exports from Qatar to GCC were QR2.6bn during the first quarter while total imports were QR769m during the same period.
