Saudi Arabia, South Africa to boost trade between both countries

(MENAFN) South Africa and Saudi Arabia aim to increase trade amid both countries after the pandemic that witnessed imports from the Kingdom drop to a four-year low in 2020.

Data from the UN Comtrade database showed that South African imports from Saudi Arabia fell to USD2.69 billion in 2020 from USD3.66 billion in 2019 and USD5.41 billion in 2018. . The majority of that was made up of oil and fuels (USD2.27 billion or 84 percent in 2020), followed by fertilizers at USD145.3 million and plastics at USD124.5 million.

The EIA further declared that South Africa imports approximately 40 percent of its oil from Saudi Arabia.

Smaller amount of commodities went the other way, with Saudi Arabia importing USD347.8 million from South Africa in 2020, dropped from USD423.8 million in 2019 and USD423.0 million in 2018.

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