Saudi goods imports fall 9% to 71.6 billion riyals in August

Summary

• Saudi merchandise imports dropped 9% year-on-year in August 2026 to roughly 71.6 billion riyals.
• Machinery and electrical equipment alone accounted for 26% of the total, at 18.8 billion riyals.
• China supplied more than a fifth of all imports, keeping it the kingdom's dominant single supplier.

The latest

Saudi merchandise imports fell to about 71.6 billion riyals in August 2026, a 9% decline from the same month of 2025, according to General Authority for Statistics data cited by Argaam. Against July, however, the bill edged up by 418.1 million riyals, or 1%. China remained the largest single source, with 15.7 billion riyals of goods.

Details

• The headline figure: Imports of goods reached roughly 71.6 billion riyals in August 2026, down 9% from the same month a year earlier, per General Authority for Statistics data. The annual drop sits alongside a modest month-on-month rise, indicating the decline is measured against 2025 levels rather than recent momentum.
• Monthly direction: Compared with the previous month, the import bill rose by about 418.1 million riyals, an increase of 1%. That leaves August slightly above July even as it stands well below its 2025 equivalent, a combination that complicates any reading of a single clean trend.
• Top category: Machinery, mechanical appliances and electrical equipment and their parts made up 26% of total imports, worth 18.8 billion riyals. The group is the single largest line in the breakdown, more than double the share of the next category and a standard proxy for capital spending and project activity.
• Chemicals and metals: Products of the chemical industries came second at about 10% of the total, or 6.87 billion riyals. Base metals and articles made from them followed at 6.36 billion riyals, keeping industrial inputs clustered near the top of the import table.
• Transport equipment: Vehicles, aircraft, vessels and associated transport equipment accounted for 5.94 billion riyals, placing the category fourth in the monthly breakdown. It trails base metals by roughly 420 million riyals.
• China's share: China supplied 22% of all imports in the month, equal to 15.7 billion riyals. That is more than two and a half times the value of goods arriving from the second-ranked supplier, underlining how concentrated the kingdom's sourcing remains at the top of the list.
• Other suppliers: The United States ranked second at 6 billion riyals, followed by Egypt at 4.2 billion riyals, Germany at 3.33 billion riyals and Switzerland at 3.14 billion riyals. Egypt's placing puts a regional economy ahead of two major European industrial exporters for the month.
• Concentration: The ten largest source countries together accounted for about 61% of total imports, worth 43.9 billion riyals. The remaining 39%, roughly 27.7 billion riyals, was spread across all other trading partners. The statistics authority's release did not attribute the annual decline to any specific driver, nor separate price effects from volume.

Background

The General Authority for Statistics publishes monthly international trade data covering merchandise imports and exports by commodity group and partner country. The series is the standard official reference for tracking Saudi trade flows.

Between the lines

The year-on-year fall and the month-on-month rise point in opposite directions, so August reads less as a turning point than as a level well below 2025. With machinery and electrical equipment at 26% of the bill and chemicals and base metals close behind, the import mix stays weighted toward industrial and capital goods rather than consumer items — which makes the 9% drop a signal worth watching for project activity.

What's next

The next monthly international trade release from the General Authority for Statistics will show whether September extends the small month-on-month rise or returns to the year-on-year decline, and whether China holds its share above a fifth.

Source: Argaam, citing General Authority for Statistics data