Qatar Chamber: Private sector exports grow by 10% in February

Qatar Chamber (QC) has issued its monthly economic newsletter for April which highlighted the most prominent trends in the Qatari economy, as well as statistics related to foreign trade and trade of private sector in February 2021 according to certificates of origin issued by the Chamber. The newsletter, prepared by QCs Research & Studies Department, highlighted a report about the additional support packages for the private sector to mitigate the economic consequences of the pandemic and a report about the Industrial Investment Opportunities Forum which will be held in December. The newsletter said that according to the figures given by the Planning and Statistics Authority in the State of Qatar for February 2021, the total value of foreign merchandise trade amounted to QR 28 billion, showing a decrease of 3.8 percent compared to the previous month. In February 2021, the total exports of goods (including exports of goods of domestic origin and re-exports) amounted to around QR 20.6 billion, showing a decrease of 3.3 percent compared to QR 21.3 billion in January. The imports of goods in in the said month amounted to around QR 7.4 billion, showing a decrease of 5.1 percent compared to QR 7.8 billion in January. Therefore, the country's foreign merchandise trade balance, which represents the difference between total exports and imports, showed a surplus of QR 13.2 billion. In February 2021, China was at the top of the countries of destination of Qatar's foreign trade with about QR 4.5 billion, a share of 15.9 percent of the states total foreign trade. The QC's newsletter noted that the private sector exports in the said month emphasized its ability and the Qatari economy in general to overcome the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and returning to pre pandemic levels. The value of private sector's exports in February increased by 190 percent compared to April 2020 which is the lowest value due to the precautionary measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, while it decreased by 16 percent compared to February 2020 in which exports registered the highest level. According to the type of commodities, the private sectors exports of petrochemical substances topped the list of exports which increased compared to exports of January with an increase of 143.9 percent, followed by paraffin which increased by 111.2 percent, steel with a 65.4 percent increase and aluminum exports which grew by 65.4 percent. Lutreine exports came in the fifth place which grew by 44.9 percent and chemical substances with an 8 percent increase. On the other hand, exports of other commodities such as chemical fertilizers, industrial gases and essential oils and industrial gases decreased by 99.1 percent, 41.9 percent, and 9.6 percent respectively.