"Gulf Statistical Center": The Cooperation Council is the sixth in the world in terms of the volume of commodity trade exchange

The report on the foreign trade of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf for the year 2023 issued by the Gulf Statistical Center indicated that the Council achieved the sixth place among the highest countries in the world in the commodity trade exchange volume index with a share of 3.4% of the total volume of global commodity trade worth 1.5 trillion US dollars in 2023, a decrease of 4.0% from the previous year.

The Cooperation Council achieved the third place globally among the highest countries in the world in terms of the commodity trade balance index in 2023 with a value of 163.7 billion US dollars, compared to 381.3 billion US dollars in 2022, a decrease of 57.1%.

The report indicated that the GCC ranked fifth among the world's top countries in the total commodity exports index in 2023, with a share of 3.1% of the total volume of global commodity exports, at a value of 0.8 trillion US dollars in 2023, a decrease of 14.5% from the previous year.

The GCC ranked ninth globally in the total commodity imports index in 2023, with a share of 2.7% of the total volume of global commodity imports, at a value of 0.7 trillion US dollars in 2023, an increase of 13.4% from the previous year.

The report indicated that the GCC countries' commodity trade (excluding intra-trade) decreased by 4.0% in 2023, reaching about $1,482.4 billion for 2023.

The value of GCC commodity exports decreased from $962.6 billion in 2022 to $823.1 billion in 2023, a decrease of about $139.5 billion and a rate of 14.5%.

The Gulf statistical report added that GCC countries' commodity imports increased to about $659.3 billion in 2023 compared to $581.3 billion in 2022, an increase of $78.0 billion over the previous year and a growth rate of 13.4%.

The center reported that the value of oil exports to the GCC countries decreased by 20.5% during 2023 to reach 525.5 billion US dollars compared to 661.1 billion US dollars in 2022.

The center explained that China ranked first in the list of major trading partners in the commodity trade volume index in 2023, as the value of commodity trade volume amounted to 297.9 billion US dollars, surpassing its closest competitor, India, which ranked second with a value of 150.4 billion US dollars, with a difference of 147.6 billion US dollars.

China also represents the most important major trading partners of the Cooperation Council, as it ranked first in terms of the commodity exports index, as it imported 19.2% of the total Gulf commodity exports to global markets in 2023, with a value of 158.3 billion US dollars compared to 190.4 billion US dollars in 2022, a decrease of 16.8%.

China also ranked first among the GCC countries’ main trading partners in the 2023 Total Merchandise Imports Index, exporting 21.2% of the GCC’s total merchandise imports in 2023, with a value of USD 139.6 billion in 2023 compared to USD 126.0 billion in 2022, recording an increase of 10.8% over the previous year.