Bahrain ‘s exports of national origin decreased by 16% to $464 million in May 2020, compared to $556 million in May of the previous year, according to the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA) Foreign Trade Study.
The top 10 countries accounted for 76% of the total value of exports of national origin purchased from Bahrain, while the remaining countries accounted for 24%.
Saudi Arabia ranks first among the countries in receiving Bahraini exports of domestic origin. Saudi imports goods worth $90 million from Bahrain. The Netherlands ranks second with $47 million and the United Arab Emirates third with $37 million.
In May 2020, unwrought aluminum which was not alloyed emerged as the top goods exported with $95 million. Unwrought aluminum alloys were second with $82 million and agglomerated iron ores come third with $66 million.
The total value of re-exports decreased by 40% to $105 million in May 2020, compared to $174 million in the same month of the previous year. The top 10 countries accounted for 95% of the re-exported volume, while the remaining countries accounted for 5%. Saudi Arabia, China and UAE took up the first three positions with Saudi at $39 million, China with $18 million and the United Arab Emirates with $13 million.
Among the products re-exported from Bahrain, Four-wheel – drive cars ranks highest with $21 million. Parts for airplanes is second with $6.36 million, and tobacco-containing cigarettes came third with $5.83 million.
The trade balance, which is the gap between exports and imports, reported a deficit of $429 million in May 2020 compared to $378 million in May 2019, resulting in a 13 percent increase in the trade balance.
The volume of imports decreased by 10%, hitting $100 million in May 2020 compared to $90.5 million in the same month in 2019. Again, the top 10 countries accounted for 67% of the value of imports, while the remaining countries accounted for 33%.
According to the survey, when it came to imports to Bahrain, China ranked first with a total of $177 million, while Australia ranked second with $100 million and Brazil ranked third with $60 million.
