Gulf exports to Korea nearly halve in 2023
MUSCAT: Trade between member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Republic of Korea amounted to $58.9 billion in 2023, according to a recent report by the GCC Statistics Organisation. The figure represents a 39.5% decrease – equivalent to $38.4 billion – from the previous year. The decline was fueled by a roughly 50% decline in GCC exports to Korea, which slumped to $46.3 billion in value in 2023, down from $86.1 billion in 2022.
Exported hydrocarbon products, which made up 94.2% of total exports, were valued at $43.6 billion in 2023, representing a decrease of 47.2% in comparison to the previous year ($82.5 billion). This was followed by miscellaneous items, which made up 2.0% of total exports, valued at $0.9 billion, which decreased by $0.4 billion from the previous year.
Aluminium products made up 1.5% of exports with a value of $0.7 billion and decreased by $0.3 billion in 2023. Organic chemical products, which represented 1.1% of total exports, dipped by $0.2 billion in 2023 to reach $0.5 billion. Copper exports experienced a slight decrease of $0.1 billion, amounting to $0.3 billion, followed by inorganic chemical product exports, which decreased by $0.2 billion in 2023, also amounting to $0.3 billion. Both copper products and inorganic chemical products made up 0.6% of total exports respectively.
On the other hand, imports from the Republic of Korea into the GCC experienced an increase of 11.1% ($1.4 billion) in 2023. Total imports were valued at $12.6 billion in 2023, in comparison to $11.2 billion in 2022. Miscellaneous items, which represented 33.3% of total imports, remained unchanged with a value of $4.2 billion. Motor vehicles and parts, which represent 27.8% of total imports, experienced an increase of $0.6 billion in 2023, amounting to $3.5 billion. Imports of machinery and mechanical appliances also increased in 2023 by $0.4 billion, amounting to $2.1 billion. This was followed by electrical machinery and apparatus, which also experienced a slight increase of $0.1 billion in 2023.
Imports of artificial articles of iron and steel represented 7.1% of imports with a value of $0.9 billion, while iron and steel imports made up 4% of total imports with a value of $0.5 billion, representing a $0.1 billion decrease from the previous year.
The Republic of Korea ranked as the GCC's 5th trading partner in 2023.
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