Agencies
Doha
The value of Qatar's imports rebounded sharply in August from July, government data showed on Wednesday, suggesting the economic impact of unjust siege imposed by Saudi-led bloc is fading.
The siege disrupted shipping routes to Qatar and closed its land border with Saudi Arabia, over which food and building materials were imported.
In August, however, imports jumped 39.1 percent to QR8.68 billion ($2.38 billion), the Ministry of Development Planning and Statistics (MDPS) said.
Imports were 7.8 percent below their year-earlier levels, but that still marked a major recovery from levels of June and July, when they dropped more than 35 percent year on year.
Since the diplomatic crisis erupted, Qatari companies and foreign shippers have sought to establish new shipping routes to Qatar via other countries including Oman, compensating for the loss of Dubai as a trans-shipment centre.
Those efforts now appear to be bearing fruit.
Imports of large equipment recovered sharply in August after being slowed for a couple of months by the disruption to shipping routes.
Gas turbine equipment, some of it used in the production of natural gas, increased 76.5 percent from a year ago to QR630 million while aircraft parts surged 39.7 percent to QR306 million.
Qatar's exports, the vast majority of them natural gas and oil, climbed 17.7 percent year-on-year to QR21.30 billion in August. As a result, its trade surplus expanded 45.4 percent to QR12.62 billion.
MDPS data
Meanwhile, the MDPS on Wednesday released preliminary figures of the value of exports of domestic goods, re-exports, and imports for August 2017
MDPS said the year-on-year increase in total exports was mainly due to higher exports of petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons (LNG, condensates, propane, butane), which reached 13.1 billion in August 2017, an increase of 16.2 percent.
Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals (crude) exports reached QR3.7 billion, an increase by 18.3 percent. Meanwhile, petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals (not crude) reached QR1.3 billion, an increase by 53.9 per cent, data shows.
In August 2017, Japan was at the top of the countries of destination of Qatar's exports with close to QR3.4 billion, a share of 15.9 percent of total exports, followed by South Korea with QR2.9 billion and a share of 13.7 percent and China with about QR2.7 billion, a share of 12.8 percent.
During August 2017, the group of"turbojets, turbo propellers & other Gas turbines; parts thereof" was at the top of the imported group of commodities, with QR0.6 billion, showing an increase of 76.5 percent compared to August 2016.
"Parts of aircraft and helicopters," stood in the second place with QR0.3 billion, showing an increase of 39.7 percent, while"motor cars and other passenger vehicles," dropped 57.8 percent to QR0.3 billion,
Last month, the US was the leading country of origin of Qatar's imports with about QR1.3 billion, a share of 15.4 percent of the imports, followed by China at QR0.9 billion, a share of 10.7 percent, and Germany at QR0.8 billion, a share of 9.3 percent.