Oman’s non-oil exports fell by 7.1 per cent at OMR1,920.4 million for the first seven months of 2015, from OMR2,066.7 million for the same period of last year.
A fall in commodity prices, which constitute a sizeable share of Oman’s exports, must have caused the fall in export revenue this year.
Total exports for the first seven months ending July 2015 declined by 31.7 per cent to OMR8,066.5 million from OMR11,805.4 million posted for the first seven months of 2014.
The Sultanate has been taking several initiatives to raise its non-oil exports, especially to untapped African markets.
Oman is seriously considering raising its non-oil exports to Ethiopia by holding a high-profile exhibition in the country early next year, following a detailed market study.The Sultanate, which exported goods and services worth $40 million to Ethiopia in 2014, plans to hold an Omani products exhibition in Addis Ababa in April 2016.
The Sultanate’s export promotion agency, the Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (popularly known as Ithraa) had conducted a market study in Ethiopia to assess the export potential of 59 Omani products. The survey was based on different sectors, such as foodstuffs, building material, furniture, marble, stones, textiles and vegetables.
The study was also conducted to find the consumption, demand and logistics patterns for these sectors.
Furthermore, in April this year, Ithraa had organised a business-to-business meeting for Omani businessmen in Addis Ababa, which was mainly aimed at showcasing Omani products for Ethiopian businessmen and traders.
Ithraa has been conducting a series of Omani product exhibitions, mainly in Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) countries, since 2012 to raise non-oil exports from the country and has drawn growing participation with each passing year.
As many as 120 companies participated in an Omani products exhibition in Jeddah, with 100 Omani firms taking part in a Dubai exhibition in 2014.
As many as 60 companies from Oman attended the first Omani products exhibition in Riyadh in 2012 and 65 per cent of participating companies secured contracts, while 85 companies took part in an exhibition in Qatar the following year and 70 per cent of the participating firms signed new business deals.