DUBAI (Reuters) – The value of Saudi imports from Turkey increased month-on-month in February, according to official data, but remained well below last year\u2019s amount after an informal blockade by Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Imports from Turkey came to 24.5 million riyals ($6.53 million) in February, up from 14.1 million riyals a month earlier but still about 98% down year on year, data from Saudi Arabia\u2019s General Authority for Statistics showed on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Riyadh has never publicly acknowledged boycotting goods from Turkey, but last year Saudi businessmen endorsed the move in response to what they called hostility from Ankara.<\/p>\n
Relations between the two countries were thrown into turmoil in 2018 over the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.<\/p>\n
Some Turkish exporters have been re-routing goods to circumvent the issue, exporters and traders have told Reuters, and Turkey last month raised the issue at a World Trade Organisation Goods Council meeting in Geneva.<\/p>\n
Turkey tumbled to 67th in terms of imports to Saudi Arabia from 11th in February last year, the data showed, while China remained Saudi\u2019s top trading partner.<\/p>\n
The value of Saudi overall exports meanwhile increased 3% year-on-year in February driven by non-oil exports, the statistics authority said.<\/p>\n
Exports amounted to 65.8 billion riyals, up from 63.8 billion riyals in February 2020, but oil exports fell by 0.7 billion riyals or 1.4% in the same period.<\/p>\n
On a month-on-month basis, however, overall Saudi exports decreased by 6.2 billion riyals, or 8.6%.<\/p>\n