Trade deficit with Saudi Arabia at record high in FY23: CMIE data

The trade balance between India and Saudi Arabia is at its worst since at least the turn of the millennium.

India’s imports from Saudi Arabia was $31.3 billion in the last fiscal year (FY23) more than its exports. This is the largest gap since 1999-00, the year from which data was available from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).

Since 1999-2000, India recorded a surplus in six years from 2000-01 to 2005-06.

This has largely been driven by higher petroleum imports. Petroleum and petroleum products accounted for over $33 billion in imports. Interestingly, the share of petroleum and crude products declined from 90 per cent in 2009-10 to 78.9 per cent in 2022-23.