Mubasher: Kuwait’s exports plummeted by 26.1% year-on-year (YoY) in October 2019 to reach KWD 1.55 billion from KWD 2.10 billion in the same month in 2018, recent statistics from the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB) showed.  

Imports slipped by 3.9% to stand at KWD 877 million in October last year, compared to KWD 912 million in the same month a year earlier.

Furthermore, Kuwait’s trade balance surplus totalled KWD 679 million in October 2019, 43% YoY lower than KWD 1.19 billion. 

Similarly, trade exchange shrank by 19.4% in October last year at KWD 2.43 billion from KWD 3.01 billion.

As for Kuwait’s top importers, excluding oil goods, China topped the list with KWD 18.7 million, followed by Iraq with KWD 17.2 million, as well as Saudi Arabia and the UAE with KWD 16.8 million and KWD 14.2 million, respectively.  

China, moreover, was the top exporter to Kuwait with KWD 162.4 million, followed by the US and the UAE with KWD 78.6 million and KWD 67.1 million, respectively. 

At the level of GCC countries, Kuwait's exports rose by 4.1% YoY to KWD 51 million in October 2019 from KWD 49 million. The exports to the Gulf area represented 3.3% of the total in October 2019 when compared to 2.3% in the same month a year earlier.  

Kuwait’s trade balance in 10 months   

In the first ten months of 2019, Kuwait’s imports amounted to KWD 8.47 billion, down by 6.2% YoY from KWD 9.03 billion. Meanwhile, the exports totalled KWD 16.45 billion from KWD 18.33 billion, registering a 10.3% annual decrease.

Meanwhile, the country's trade surplus decreased by 14.2% annually to KWD 7.98 billion from KWD 9.30 billion.    

Trade exchange registered KWD 24.93 billion in the January-October period last year, down by 8.9% YoY from KWD 27.37 billion.