MUSCAT: Total public revenues climbed 28.7 per cent to reach RO 10.9 billion at end of 2021, up from RO 8.5 billion at the end of 2020, while total public spending fell by 5.9 per cent to RO 12.2 billion for the same period, according to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NSCI).
The State Budget recorded a deficit of RO 1.2 billion in 2021, equivalent to 3.7 per cent of GDP at current prices.
In other data released by the Centre, the value of GDP at current prices increased by about 16.1 per cent by the end of 2021 to reach RO 33 billion, compared to about RO 28.4 billion by the end of 2020. The increase stemmed from a 39.7 per cent increase in the price of oil, from $46 per barrel by the end of 2020 to $64.3 per barrel by the end of 2021.
The added value of oil activities increased by RO 2.9 billion, registering about RO 10.5 billion, compared to RO 7.6 billion at the end of 2020, due to the increase in the added value of crude oil by about 46.6 per cent, reaching about RO 9 billion compared to RO 6.1 billion at the end of 2020. The value added of natural gas increased by about 4.8 per cent by the end of 2021.
The total value added of non-oil activities by the end of 2021 increased by 8.4 per cent compared to the end of 2020 to record RO 24 billion, and the added value of industrial activities increased by 13.6 per cent as a result of the increase in the added value of manufacturing industries by about 40.8 per cent, electricity, water and sanitation supplies increased by 5.7 per cent, mining and quarrying by about 4.3 per cent, agriculture and fish added by 7.7 per cent and the added value of service activities by 6.5 per cent.
As for foreign trade indicators, the report indicates that the value of the surplus in the trade balance increased by the end of 2021, by about RO 1.4 billion, compared to about RO 5.2 billion a year earlier. Contributing to the increase was a 45.5 per cent growth in the value of commodity exports in 2020. In 2021, it recorded about RO 17.1 billion compared to RO 11.7 billion in 2020, and the value of commodity imports increased by 49.5 per cent, registering about RO 11.9 billion compared to about RO 8.8 billion by the end of 2020.
Value of re-exports was RO 1.3 billion, which was down 22.5 per cent in 2020. However, exports of plastics, rubber and manufactured goods increased significantly by 386.3 per cent in 2021. Non-oil exports increased by about 91.2 per cent. — ONA
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