Data issued by the World Trade Organization shows Kuwait’s merchandise exports increased from 40.1 billion dollars in 2020 to 71.4 billion dollars in 2021, ranking 47th globally and fourth in the Gulf in total merchandise exports.
Kuwait’s imports of goods also increased from 27.7 billion dollars in 2020 to 33.2 billion in 2021, ranking 66th globally and third in the Gulf after the UAE, which imported goods worth 319 billion and ranked 21 globally, and Saudi Arabia with a value of 155 billion and came 32 globally, while Qatar imported goods worth 27.9 billion it ranks 68th in the world.
In terms of the ranking of the Gulf countries in total merchandise exports, the UAE ranked first in 2021 and 17th globally after exporting 425 billion dollars, followed by Saudi Arabia second with 258 billion dollars to rank 18th globally, then Qatar in third place with 86.7 billion and 41st globally.
While mining and fuel products dominate Kuwait’s exports of goods, the country’s exports of commercial services until the third quarter of 2021 (according to the latest data available at the WTO) amounted to $3 billion, while the value of imports amounted to $6.5 billion for the same period.
In 2020, Kuwait’s total exports of commercial services such as information, communication, computer, travel, transportation and financial services amounted to $6.7 billion, while it imported $17.4 billion for the same period.
Information, communications and computer services constituted the largest share of Kuwait’s exports of commercial services in 2020, with 64.44% of the total commercial services, with a value of 4.3 billion.
On the other hand, the latest available data for 2019 indicate that the United States was Kuwait’s largest partner in commercial services, followed by Britain, India, China and Germany.
Globally, China is on the top of exports, having exported goods to the world worth $3.4 trillion, followed by the United States of America with a value of 1.8 trillion, and then Germany with a value of 1.6 trillion. According to World Trade Organization data, the value of global exports of goods and services amounted to $22.3 trillion in 2021.
In another context, the World Trade Organization lowered its forecast for global GDP growth in 2022 to 2.8 percent, from 4.1 percent, and the organization indicated in its experts’ latest forecasts for global trade growth, issued last Tuesday, that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine jeopardizes the recovery of global trade.
The World Trade Organization has noted that the outlook for the global economy has darkened since the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, prompting WTO economists to reassess their forecasts for trade over the next two years and it expected the volume of merchandise trade to grow at 3 percent this year, down from its previous forecast of 4.7 percent and 3.4 percent for 2023.
The organization expected the growth of global GDP at market exchange rates by 2.8 percent in 2022, equivalent to 1.3 percentage points less than the previous forecast of 4.1 percent. The report also indicates an acceleration of growth to 3.2 percent in 2023, approaching the average index of 3 percent in the period from 2010 to 2019.
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