Oman’s trade surplus widens to RO 6.5 billion

MUSCAT: The Sultanate of Oman’s merchandise trade surplus widened to about RO 6.5 billion in the first eight months of 2026 from RO 3.9 billion a year earlier, as a rise in the value of oil and gas exports helped outbound shipments grow more than four times as fast as imports.
Merchandise exports rose 19.7 per cent to more than RO 18.3 billion through August, up from about RO 15.3 billion in the same period of 2025, according to preliminary figures from the National Centre for Statistics and Information. Imports increased 4.4 per cent to about RO 11.9 billion from RO 11.4 billion.
The value of oil and gas exports climbed 23.9 per cent to about RO 12.1 billion from RO 9.8 billion, accounting for roughly two-thirds of total merchandise exports. Non-oil exports rose 10.5 per cent to about RO 4.9 billion from RO 4.4 billion, while re-exports increased 19.7 per cent to about RO 1.3 billion from RO 1.1 billion.
The United Arab Emirates was the largest market for Oman’s non-oil exports, with shipments rising 91.8 per cent to about RO 1.6 billion from RO 814 million a year earlier. The UAE accounted for nearly a third of the value of Oman’s non-oil exports during the period.
Saudi Arabia ranked second among non-oil export destinations at RO 478 million, followed by India at RO 445 million. Shipments to the United States totalled RO 327 million, while those to China reached RO 198 million.
Iran led the re-export market, with shipments rising 69.6 per cent to RO 342 million. The UAE was second at RO 293 million, followed by Saudi Arabia, where the value of re-exports rose 178.2 per cent to RO 274 million. The United Kingdom and Somalia rounded out the top five destinations at RO 35 million and RO 29 million, respectively. Together, Iran, the UAE and Saudi Arabia accounted for about seven-tenths of Oman’s re-exports.
The UAE was also Oman’s largest source of merchandise imports. Imports from the UAE rose 21 per cent to about RO 3.3 billion from about RO 2.7 billion a year earlier, accounting for more than a quarter of the total import bill.
China ranked second, with the value of imports rising 49 per cent to about RO 1.7 billion. The UAE and China together supplied about RO 5 billion worth of goods, equivalent to roughly 42 per cent of Oman’s merchandise imports in the first eight months.
India was the third-largest source of imports at RO 912 million, followed by Türkiye at RO 769 million and Saudi Arabia at RO 747 million. The five largest suppliers together accounted for roughly three-fifths of Oman’s merchandise imports during the period. — ONA