Saudi Arabia´s Main Exports

Saudi Arabia is home to the Muslim world’s holiest cities and also some of the world’s most extensive oil
reserves. It remains one of the foremost powerful countries in the Middle East by virtue of controlling
vast oil fields, having the most land mass in the Arabian Peninsula, and having considerable military
might compared to other countries in the region. In 2021, Saudi Arabia was the number 18 economy in
the world in terms of GDP (current US$), the number 26 in total exports, the number 32 in total imports,
the number 39 economy in terms of GDP per capita (current US$) and the number 31 most complex
economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI) .

Unlike the United Arab Emirates that has diversified their economy to rely less on their oil reserves Saudi
Arabia focuses most of its energy on very specific exports including:

Crude Oil

The country is heavily reliant on crude petroleum exports to sustain the country’s GDP. Saudi Arabia has
18% of the world’s known oil reserves and is the world’s largest exporter of the commodity. In fact,
petroleum makes 70% of their export revenue and according to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) the nation produced an average 10.3 million barrels of crude oil per day out of which
7.4 million barrels were exported per day. Much of what the country exports is oil in its crude form.

Main oil importers of Saudi Arabia

0.136

0.113
0.408

0.107

0.098
0.047
0.091

China Japan India United States

South Korea Singapore Others

Figure 1: Main oil importers of Saudi Arabia (April 20th, 2020)

The main oil importers of Saudi oil include China which takes 13.6%, followed by Japan with 11.3%, India
with 10.7%, the United States takes 9.8% while South Korea take 9.1% and Singapore 4.7%. Their total
export revenue is approximately $182 billion and crude oil is the major contributor to that figure.
Refined Petroleum

Saudi Arabia keeps some of the oil it produces to refine it into oil products including diesel, fuel oil and
gasoline which it not only uses domestically it also exports to other countries. The Saudis exported $26.2
billion worth of refined petroleum oil products amounting to 3.3% of the total refined oil exports
worldwide. However, it still remains among the 15% top exporters of refined petroleum products
globally.

The reason for this may be because the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reducing the amount of crude oil it’s
producing. They also consume a lot of their own refined oil products to run their industries since they
are wholly reliant on oil and its products to run manufacturing, production and assembly plants all over
the country.

Propylene Polymers

Among the countries that Saudi Arabia exports Propylene polymers are China and Turkey. To Turkey the
revenue generated in 2018 from the exportation of propylene polymers was $853 million and from
China it was $379 million in the same period.

Other significant markets for Saudi propylene polymers include neighboring United Arab Emirates and
Kuwait as well as Singapore, India, Italy, Mexico, Germany and Egypt. Propylene polymers are the 84th
most traded commodity in the world market and Saudi Arabia tops the list in the biggest exporter of the
commodity.

Saudi Arabia´s Main Imports

Vehicles

Vehicles are a major import commodity in Saudi Arabia making them the leading import product in the
country. Even though the import of cars fell by 20.5% in 2018 the figures were still impressive reaching
440,922 units. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia imports everything from four wheel drives that are reliable
in the desert landscape to sedans, heavy duty trucks vehicles, buses and cars for disabled members of
society. True to form is one of the Middle East’s leading importer of vehicles across its multiple ports.

Saudi Arabia has access to over 400 million customers for the vehicles they import not only domestically
but all over the MENA region which comprises of the Middle East and North Africa. The MENA region
comprises of 17 countries and since the nation is a signatory to the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement
(GAFTA) this allows them to do business in the area duty free. This is another revenue channel for the
Saudi government as they currently have monopoly of the vehicle market in the region. They use Ro-Ro
cargo although some affluent people prefer containers for some of their more expensive vehicles.

Pharmaceuticals

Saudi Arabia spent $5.53 billion in 2018 on pharmaceutical imports. The country accounts for 59% of the
Gulf region’s imports of pharmaceuticals and by 2023 they are expected to be importing $8.5 billion
worth of pharmaceuticals as their medical industry continues to grow.
The country’s vision for 2030 is to grow the public and private sector and develop the life sciences
industry and pharmaceuticals. The country is only able to produce 30% of their pharmaceutical products
locally and their growing population is one of the reasons why they have such a high need for the
importation of pharmaceuticals.

They have tapped into the generic market in order to keep up with supply for their domestic demand.
American, European and Indian companies have established a presence in the country to tap into the
domestic demand and they are already producing antibiotics, treatment for diabetes, anticoagulants
and cardiovascular drugs. The country is opening its doors to such companies that will help it mitigate
their need to import by creating all types of drugs from vaccines to AP.

Source:

https://www.icontainers.com/us/2020/03/30/saudi-arabia-main-imports-and-exports/

Saudi Arabia´s Technology

Saudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as a robust
ecosystem for digital entrepreneurship. The
Kingdom has developed a deep
understanding of leveraging digital
transformation and magnifying its impact.
The country’s conscious effort to progress has
contributed to becoming a tech hub of the
future.

Published annually by the World Intellectual

Property Organization, the Global Innovation
Index (GII) ranks countries based on their
innovation capabilities and outcomes. Saudi
Arabia has been making significant
investments in innovation, with a focus on
developing its technology and knowledge-
based economy. The country's Vision 2030
plan includes a strong emphasis on
innovation and technology, which has helped
boost its rankings in the GII by 15 places in 2022.
Saudi Arabia has recently launched several initiatives aimed at making the country one of the most
technologically advanced in the world by investing heavily in building an innovation ecosystem to bring
digital transformation to its operations, aiming to build a culture of innovation.

 Saudi Arabia boasts an impressively young and tech-savvy population of 33 million, positioning
the country to become the Silicon Valley of the Middle East. Two-thirds of the Kingdom's
population are under the age of 35. This offers a great opportunity for technology to embed
itself in the nation’s progress as the population has a strong appetite for digital services, making
it attractive to investors.
 Saudi Arabia has attracted more than $9 billion in investments in future technologies.
 Saudi government created an environment conducive to innovation. This includes investing in
research and development, establishing supportive policies, and creating a culture of innovation
within the government itself.
 One example of Saudi Arabia's investments in the tech future is the Saudi Vision Cable, which
spans 1,160,000 meters and is the first ever high-capacity submarine cable in the Red Sea.
 Saudi Arabia has also recently inaugurated one of the largest and most significant projects to
date: Center3 Company, the new digital regional centre for the Middle East and North Africa
(MENA). The company will serve as the owner of all stc Group digital infrastructure assets,
including data centres, submarine cables, international points of presence, and internet
exchange points.

Source:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/heres-how-saudi-arabia-emerging-new-tech-hub-future-innovisionksa/