Oman’s trade surplus down 27% to RO6bn in 2025

2026-03-07 - 16:18

Muscat – Oman recorded a trade surplus of RO6.097bn for the full year 2025, down 26.9% from RO8.341bn during the same period in 2024, mainly due to a sharp decline in value of oil exports. Preliminary statistics from the National Centre for Statistics and Information showed that the total value of merchandise exports reached RO23.264bn in 2025, a decrease of 7.1% compared to RO25.054bn in 2024. Meanwhile, total merchandise imports into the sultanate increased 2.7% to RO17.167bn, compared to RO16.713bn the previous year. The fall in the value of Oman’s merchandise exports was largely due to a drop in oil and gas exports, which amounted to RO14.511bn in 2025, down 15.2% from RO17.114bn in 2024. Non-oil merchandise exports, however, grew 7.5% to RO6.698bn, up from RO6.232bn in 2024. Re-exports from Oman also rose to RO2.056bn, an increase of 20.3% from RO1.708bn the previous year. The United Arab Emirates led non-oil exports from Oman, valued at RO1.311bn in 2025, up 25.3% compared to 2024, and also topped re-exports from the sultanate, reaching RO724mn. Saudi Arabia was the second-largest destination for non-oil exports at RO1.067bn, followed by India at RO699mn. In re-exports, Iran ranked second with RO365mn, followed by the United Kingdom at RO207mn. On the import side, UAE led with RO4.153bn, followed by China as the second-largest source of goods at RO1.935bn, and India at RO1.448bn.