Saudi Arabia’s imports jumped an annual 19.6 percent in August, ending nine consecutive months of declines, while growth in non-oil exports accelerated to 22.2 percent, data from the Central Department of Statistics and Information showed on Thursday.
The country’s non-oil exports amounted to SR18.542 billion ($4.94b) in August 2014, compared to SR15.172 ($4.042b) in the same month last year. The imports totaled SR56.483 billlion ($15.047b) in August this year, compared to SR47.208 billion ($12.576b) in 2013, Reuters reported.
Non-oil exports account for around 12 percent of overall exports of Saudi Arabia. The world’s largest oil exporter does not release complete trade data on a monthly basis. Trade data are often revised by the statistics office.
Analysts polled by Reuters in September forecast Saudi Arabia’s current account surplus at 15.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2014 and 11.5 percent in 2015.
Bans Buffalo Meat
The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has stopped the import of meat temporarily from Brazil and India.
Earlier, the firm used to export boneless buffalo meat. The suspension order was put in effect following observations against the firm related to food safety, SPA said.
In its website, SFDA updated the list of approved Indian firms in the country specializing in exporting boneless sheep, goat and buffalo meat. They now reach 29 firms instead of 30.
SFDA, meanwhile, has approved “Al-Thurayya” for preparing and marketing poultry meat in Jordan as a firm for exporting chilled and frozen poultry meat and their products to the counry.
SFDA has updated the list of approved Jordanian firms in its website. This brings the total of Jordanian firms exporting meat to eight.
A specialist technical team from SFDA paid a visit to the Indian and Jordanian firms wishing to export meat to the country. These firms were examined meticulously to ensure the implementation of hygienic conditions imposed by SFDA on such firms.
