The Foreign Trade Report of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries 2023 issued by the GCC Statistical Center ‘GCC-Stat’ indicated that the GCC came sixth on the list of top countries worldwide in the volume of trade in goods index.

GCC countries accounted for 3.4 per cent of the total volume of global trade in goods, with a value amounting to 1.5 trillion US dollars in 2023, logging a decrease of 4.0 per cent compared to the figures recorded in the previous year. They also came third globally on the list of top countries worldwide in the merchandise trade balance index in 2023, with a value of 163.7 billion US dollars, compared to 381.3 billion US dollars recorded in 2022, which marked a decrease of 57.1 per cent.

The report revealed that GCC countries ranked fifth among the top countries worldwide in the index of total commodity exports in 2023, with a share of 3.1 per cent of the total volume of global commodity exports, which amounted to 0.8 trillion US dollars in 2023, with a decrease of 14.5 per cent compared to the figures recorded in the previous year.

Moreover, the countries also ranked ninth globally in the total merchandise imports index in 2023, with a share of 2.7 per cent of the total volume of global merchandise imports, at a value of 0.7 trillion US dollars in 2023, with an increase of 13.4 per cent compared to the figures logged in the previous year.

The report indicated that the GCC countries’ trade in goods (excluding intra-trade) decreased by 4.0 per cent in 2023, reaching about 1,482.4 billion US dollars in 2023, compared to 1,482.4 billion US dollars in 2023. The value of commodity exports of the GCC Countries decreased from $962.6 billion in 2022 to $823.1 billion in 2023, with a decrease of about $139.5 billion and a rate of 14.5 per cent.

It also added that the index of commodity imports from the GCC countries rose to about 659.3 billion US dollars in 2023, compared to 581.3 billion US dollars in 2022, with an increase of 78.0 billion US dollars compared to the figures recorded in the previous year and a growth rate of 13.4 per cent. It further explained that the value of oil exports from the GCC countries decreased by 20.5 per cent in 2023 to reach $525.5 billion, compared to $661.1 billion in 2022.

As for the main trading partners, the GCC-Stat explained that China ranked first on the list of main trading partners in the commodity trade volume index in 2023. The value of the commodity trade volume amounted to 297.9 billion US dollars, surpassing its closest competitor, India, which ranked second with a value of 150.4 billion US dollars, with a difference of 147.6 billion US dollars.

China is also the GCC Countries’ most important trading partner. It ranked first in terms of the commodity exports index by importing 19.2 per cent of the total Gulf commodity exports to global markets in 2023, at a value of $158.3 billion compared to $190.4 billion in 2022, with a decrease of 16.8 per cent.

China also ranked first among the GCC countries’ main trading partners in the 2023 Total Merchandise Imports Index. It exported 21.2 per cent of the GCC’s total merchandise imports in 2023, with a value of USD 139.6 billion compared to USD 126.0 billion in 2022, recording an increase of 10.8 per cent over the previous year.