LOC15:41
12:41 GMT
BRUSSELS, April 24 (KUNA) -- European Union's (EU) trade in goods with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 2018 amounted to EUR 144.1 billion (USD 161.5 billion) nearly the same as 2017.
EU-GCC total trade in goods in 2017 amounted to EUR 143.7 billion (USD 161.1 billion).
EU exports to the GCC declined to EUR 91.26 billion (USD 102.3 billion) in 2018 from EUR 99.8 billion (USD 111.9 billion) in 2017.
EU imports from the GCC went up accounting for EUR 52.8 billion (USD 59.2 billion) in 2018 from EUR 43.8 billion (USD 49.1 billion) in 2017, according to figures released by Eurostat, the EU's statistical agency.
EU imports from Oman in 2018 amounted to EUR 749.8 million (USD 840.7 million), from Qatar EUR 7.2 billion (USD 8.0 billion), from Bahrain EUR 143.8 million (USD 161.2 million), from Kuwait EUR 3.2 billion (USD 3.5 billion), from Saudi Arabia EUR 30.5 billion (USD 34.1 billion) and from the United Arab Emirates EUR 11.0 billion (USD 12.3 billion).
However, EU exports to Oman totalled EUR 4.5 billion (USD 5.0 billion), to Qatar EUR 10.6 billion (USD 11.8 billion), to Bahrain EUR 2.1 billion (USD 2.3 billion), to Kuwait EUR 5.6 billion (USD 6.2 billion), to Saudi Arabia EUR 30.4 billion (USD 34.0 billion) and to United Arab Emirates EUR 37.8 billion (USD 42.3 billion).
EU imports from GCC countries are mainly mineral fuels, mining products and chemicals, whilst EU exports to GCC are mainly industrial products, such as power generation plants, railway locomotives, aircrafts as well as machinery and transport equipment.
The EU was the first trading partner for the GCC in 2018 accounting for 14.6 percent of its total trade, followed by China (12.2 percent), Japan (8.5 percent) and India (8.4 percent). (end)
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