Official data has revealed a notable increase of 13.3% in Kuwait’s import bill for goods from abroad, which reached approximately one billion dinars during the first nine months of 2023. Detailed statistics illustrate that the total value of merchandise imports into Kuwait between January and September amounted to around 8.64 billion dinars, compared to 7.6 billion dinars during the same period in 2022, reported Al-Anba Daily.
The surge in the import bill can be attributed to global waves of price inflation and a growth in the volume of merchandise imported, amounting to over 2.9 million tons of goods. Specifically, the volume of goods imported by Kuwait witnessed a 12.4% increase, reaching 26.8 million tons during the January to September period in 2023, compared to 23.84 million tons recorded for the corresponding period in 2022.
Among Kuwait’s major import partners, the UAE accounted for approximately 787 million dinars, while imports from Saudi Arabia amounted to around 444 million dinars. Imports from China represented the largest share at 2.89 billion dinars, equivalent to 33% of Kuwait’s imports.
Other significant import partners included Japan (523 million dinars), India (480 million dinars), Thailand (134 million dinars), and Egypt (98.5 million dinars). In contrast, Kuwait’s export revenues experienced a decline of 18.7% during the first nine months of the current year, totaling 4.47 billion dinars by the end of September.
This is compared to 23.83 billion dinars achieved during the same period in 2022. Interestingly, although export revenues decreased, the quantity of goods exported from Kuwait saw a slight increase of 1.39%, amounting to 1.34 million tons. The total value of these exports during January to September 2023 reached approximately 97.26 million tons, compared to 95.9 million tons for the same period in 2022.
In terms of export destinations, the UAE was the primary recipient, with Kuwait exporting goods worth around 285 million dinars to the country. Saudi Arabia followed with imports valued at 160 million dinars, while Iraq received 93 million dinars of Kuwaiti exports. Smaller shares of exports went to Gaza (1.6 million dinars), Pakistan (82 million dinars), Turkey (13.5 million dinars), China and Hong Kong (144 million dinars), India (232 million dinars), and Egypt (27 million dinars).