Saudi Arabia’s non-oil exports reached 515 billion riyals ($137.2bn) in 2024, marking the highest value in the kingdom’s history.
This achievement represents a significant 13 per cent increase compared to the previous year and an impressive growth of over 113pc since the launch of Vision 2030. The robust growth spanned all export sectors.
In 2024, petrochemical commodity exports amounted to 149bn riyals, constituting 68pc of total commodity exports, and registered a 2pc increase in value and weight compared to the previous year. Non-petrochemical commodity exports achieved a remarkable 69bn riyals (32pc of total commodity exports), the highest value in recent years.
The kingdom’s re-export sector also delivered a historic performance in 2024, reaching 90bn riyals, a 205pc increase compared to 2016, a 42pc rise year-on-year, and a 114pc increase compared to 2019. This was primarily driven by the re-export of mobile phones, which reached a record value of 25bn riyals, more than doubling their 2023 value.
Services exports also reached an all-time high of 207bn riyals, exhibiting a 14pc year-on-year increase and a substantial 220pc rise since Vision 2030’s announcement. The travel and tourism sector was a key driver, increasing by 270pc since 2016. In 2024, Saudi Arabia welcomed approximately 30 million international tourists.
Saudi Export Development Authority CEO Abdulrahman Althukair attributed this historic non-oil export performance to the kingdom’s sustained efforts in economic diversification and enhancing the competitiveness of national products.
He highlighted the authority’s commitment to facilitating national companies’ access to new markets and bolstering their export capabilities through comprehensive programmes encompassing training, empowerment, promotion and advisory services.
The operation of the integrated logistics zone at King Khalid International Airport played a significant role in this remarkable growth by enhancing supply chain efficiency and facilitating re-export operations.
Machinery, automated devices, transportation equipment, and parts thereof constituted 84pc of total re-exports in 2024.
The travel sector contributed significantly to service exports with travel exports increasing by 150pc compared to 2019. This represented about three-quarters of total service exports.
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