According to preliminary data released by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the Sultanate of Oman’s trade balance recorded a surplus of OMR2.61 billion at the end of March 2024, as opposed to a surplus of OMR1.93 billion during the same period in 2023.
By the end of March 2024, the total value of merchandise exports was OMR6.50 billion, up 16.7% from the same period the year before, when it was OMR5.57 billion, according to NCSI statistics.
The total value of merchandise imports into the Sultanate of Oman stood at OMR3.89 billion, up 6.9% from OMR3.64 billion during the same period the previous year, by the end of March 2024.
The Sultanate of Oman’s oil and gas exports increased by 3% at the end of March 2024 to reach OMR3.72 billion, up from OMR3.60 billion at the end of March 2023. This is the primary reason for the increase in the value of exports.
The value of crude oil exports had reached OMR2.70 billion, up 13.3% from the same period in the previous year, by the end of March 2024.
In contrast, the value of refined oil exports had dropped to OMR363 million, down 13.9%. The value of liquefied natural gas exports had also dropped, to OMR682 million, from the end of March 2023, down 18.1%.
In the meantime, the value of non-oil merchandise exports rose by 44.9%, from OMR1.61 billion at the end of March 2023 to OMR2.33 billion at the end of March 2024.
The highest value of non-oil commodity exports was recorded in the mineral products, which totalled OMR1.16 billion, up 127% from the same period in 2023. Base metals and their articles came in second, with an export value of OMR352 million, up 96%, and the products of the chemical industries, with an export value of OMR253 million, down 7.3%.