Mubasher: Kuwait’s exports dropped by 20.1% in the third quarter of 2019, from last year, preliminary trade foreign figures showed on Wednesday.
The total value of the Gulf country’s outbound shipments reached KWD 4.74 billion by the end of the three-month period ended September, compared with KWD 5.93 billion in the same period a year ago.
This was accompanied by a fall of imports into Kuwait, which amounted to KWD 2.5 billion in the third quarter, retreating by 11% from KWD 2.81 billion.
As a result, Kuwait’s trade surplus was KWD 2.24 billion by the end of three months to September, an 11% year-on-year decline from KWD 2.81 billion.
Crude oil and mineral oil accounted for most of the total value of exports during the quarter, despite falling year-on-year by 20.8% to KWD 4.29 billion.
At the other end of the spectrum, automobiles represented the biggest proportion of Kuwaiti imports at KWD 231.7 million, which was a 6.8% growth from KWD 216.9 million the year before.
Iraq was the top importer of Kuwaiti products during the third quarter, having received KWD 79.01 million in goods from the Gulf country, followed by China with KWD 76.81 million, India with KWD 60.58 million, the UAE with KWD 53.28 million and Saudi Arabia with KWD 48.89 million.
Meanwhile, China was the biggest exporter of Kuwait-bound products, with a total of KWD 457.53 million, while the US exported KWD 229.84 million.
