MUSCAT: Oman’s total exports for the first half of 2015 declined by 32.61 per cent to OMR6.81 billion from OMR10.11 billion for the same period last year.
The fall in export revenue was mainly on account of a plunge in oil and gas prices in international markets and re-exports. The average price of Oman Crude dipped by 43.5 per cent to $59.8 per barrel for the first nine months of this year from $105.81 a barrel for the same period of 2014, according to the latest monthly data released by National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).
As a result, exports of crude oil, petroleum products and liquefied natural gas plunged by 39 per cent to OMR4.09 billion in the first half of 2015 from OMR6.71 billion in the same period last year. Of this, crude oil exports showed a 40.3 per cent fall, while liquefied natural gas exports were down by 27.5 per cent. The Sultanate produced 267.06 million barrels of crude oil in the first nine months of 2015, up by 3.2 per cent over the same period last year.
Likewise, non-oil exports plunged by 9.8 per cent to OMR1,663.8 million from OMR1,845.2 million, the NCSI report showed. Among various product segments, plastics and rubber products plummeted by 25.6 per cent to OMR130.6 million.
The Sultanate’s export promotion agency is targeting a 15 per cent growth in non-oil exports.
Re-exports also showed a drastic fall of 32.1 per cent to OMR1,057.4 million from OMR1,557.5 million during the first half under view.
Oman’s export development agency Public Authority for Investment Promotion and Export Development (popularly known as Ithraa) is taking several initiatives to enhance non-oil exports. These programmes include visits of trade delegation, participation in international exhibitions, business-to-business meetings and market studies in potential export markets.
