TDT | Manama
Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com
Bahrain experienced a notable change in trade trends in October 2023, with imports increasing by 12% while exports decreased by 13%, ultimately widening the deficit by 735% compared to the same month last year.
This is based on data extracted from the Foreign Trade Report published by the Information and Electronic Government Agency (iGA), which covers important aspects such as trade balance, imports, exports of domestic products, and re-exports.
China tops imports to Bahrain
Imports recorded a 12% increase, reaching BD561 million in October 2022, up from BD500 million a year earlier.
The top 10 countries contributed significantly, accounting for 70% of total imports.
In terms of imports to Bahrain, China ranks first with 76 million BD, followed by Brazil with 75 million BD and the United Arab Emirates with 46 million BD.
The main imports were non-agglomerated iron ore and alloy concentrates, valued at BD89 million, followed by other aluminum oxides, valued at BD41 million, and smartphones, valued at BD19 million.
Saudi Arabia’s major exporters
Conversely, exports of domestically-originated products decreased by 13%, dropping from BD 400 million to BD 349 million in October 2022.
The top 10 countries accounted for 70% of total exports. Saudi Arabia emerged as Bahrain’s leading exporter, contributing BD86 million, followed by the UAE with BD32 million and the US with BD31 million.
The main export products were unrefined aluminum alloys at BD78m, followed by agglomerated iron ore and alloyed concentrates at BD73m and unalloyed raw aluminum alloys at BD21m.
Turbojet aircraft top re-export
Re-exports also slumped, decreasing by 17% to 68 million BD from 83 million BD in October 2022. The top 10 re-exporting countries accounted for 87% of the re-export value.
UAE ranked first with BD20 million, followed by Saudi Arabia with 15 million BD and Singapore with 6 million BD.
The top re-export products from Bahrain were turbojets, valued at BD10m, followed by four-wheel drive products at BD5m, and other parts for airplanes, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles in third place with a value of BD3m.
An analysis of the trade balance, which represents the difference between exports and imports, showed a deficit of 143 million BD in October, compared to a surplus of 17 million BD in the same month last year. This change increased the deficit by 735%.