Saudi trade balance records

Saudi Arabia's balance of trade with other countries recorded a surplus of SR541 billion in 2010, up 19.1 percent, reflecting a sharp rise in trade exchange between the Kingdom and the world during 2005-2010. This observation was made in a report issued by the Asharqia Chamber, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Friday. The report also said the trade surplus gauges the difference between volume of exports and imports of the Kingdom in a specific period of time. The Kingdom's exports reached its peak in 2008 with SR1,175.5 billion against SR431.8 billion imports in the same year, according to the report based on the information provided by the Central Department of Statistics and Information. The report showed that Japan, the United States, China, South Korea, India, Singapore, Taiwan, the UAE, Bahrain and Thailand topped the list of countries to which the Kingdom exported its products in 2010. It was the same year when the country had its lowest exports estimated at SR677.1 billion against SR223 billion imports that were mostly from the US, China, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, India, the UAE, Britain and Italy, the report added.