Saudi Arabia’s push to build a broader export economy gathered pace in 2025 as non-oil exports climbed to a record SR624 billion, up 15 per cent from SR543 billion a year earlier, with their share of total exports rising to 44 per cent from 39 per cent. The figures mark the strongest annual performance yet for a pillar of the Kingdom’s diversification drive and underline how trade outside hydrocarbons is becoming more central to economic policy.
The increase matters not only for its size but for what it signals about the structure of the economy. Saudi planners have spent years trying to reduce reliance on crude revenues by expanding manufacturing, logistics, mining, services and re-exports, while also pushing local firms into overseas markets. That strategy has been backed by industrial policy, export promotion, special economic zones, investment in ports and freight networks, and the “Made in Saudi” branding effort aimed at lifting the visibility of domestically produced goods.
Trade data through 2025 showed that momentum was not confined to a single month. Quarterly and monthly releases pointed to repeated gains in non-oil exports including re-exports, even as the composition of that growth shifted. In the final quarter of 2025, non-oil exports including re-exports rose 18.6 per cent from a year earlier, while the petroleum share of total exports fell to 67.5 per cent from 70.4 per cent. Earlier 2025 trade releases also showed stronger non-oil export-to-import ratios and solid contributions from chemicals, machinery and re-export activity, suggesting a wider base of trade than in earlier phases of the diversification push.
That said, the headline number deserves careful reading. Saudi non-oil exports are not a single block of locally manufactured goods. They include re-exports, an area that has grown sharply as the Kingdom has developed as a regional logistics platform. Some official releases for 2025 showed national non-oil exports excluding re-exports softening in certain periods even while the broader aggregate rose strongly, indicating that part of the jump came from goods moving through Saudi trade and distribution channels rather than solely from domestic factory output. That does not diminish the achievement, but it does show that diversification is unfolding through multiple tracks at once: industrial expansion, services growth and hub-based commerce.
The wider economic backdrop also helps explain the policy urgency. Saudi Arabia’s economy has been leaning more heavily on non-oil activity while oil production and oil-market volatility continue to shape fiscal room. IMF assessments published last year said non-oil real GDP in 2024 grew above 4 per cent, led by private consumption and investment in sectors such as retail, hospitality and construction. At the same time, oil-related constraints and geopolitical strains across the region have kept pressure on trade routes and confidence, making export diversification more than a branding exercise; it has become part of the Kingdom’s economic resilience strategy.
There are, however, fresh signs of strain beneath the export success. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector activity contracted in March 2026 for the first time since 2020, with businesses reporting supply-chain disruption, weaker new orders and a sharp drop in export demand linked to regional conflict and logistics pressure. That suggests the record 2025 export tally was achieved before a more difficult external environment set in. For policymakers, the challenge now is whether the gains of 2025 can be sustained through a period of slower regional growth, shipping disruption and tighter budget choices.
Still, Saudi Arabia enters that period with a stronger non-oil base than it had a few years ago. The sovereign wealth fund’s new 2026-2030 strategy places heavier emphasis on domestic investment, with advanced manufacturing, logistics, clean energy, tourism and infrastructure among the priority ecosystems. That alignment between capital allocation and export ambition could help deepen industrial capacity, raise local value addition and create more sectors capable of earning foreign exchange beyond petroleum. The official export target has long been tied to lifting the non-oil economy’s weight in national output, and the 2025 record gives Riyadh a stronger platform from which to press that agenda.
The increase matters not only for its size but for what it signals about the structure of the economy. Saudi planners have spent years trying to reduce reliance on crude revenues by expanding manufacturing, logistics, mining, services and re-exports, while also pushing local firms into overseas markets. That strategy has been backed by industrial policy, export promotion, special economic zones, investment in ports and freight networks, and the “Made in Saudi” branding effort aimed at lifting the visibility of domestically produced goods.
Trade data through 2025 showed that momentum was not confined to a single month. Quarterly and monthly releases pointed to repeated gains in non-oil exports including re-exports, even as the composition of that growth shifted. In the final quarter of 2025, non-oil exports including re-exports rose 18.6 per cent from a year earlier, while the petroleum share of total exports fell to 67.5 per cent from 70.4 per cent. Earlier 2025 trade releases also showed stronger non-oil export-to-import ratios and solid contributions from chemicals, machinery and re-export activity, suggesting a wider base of trade than in earlier phases of the diversification push.
That said, the headline number deserves careful reading. Saudi non-oil exports are not a single block of locally manufactured goods. They include re-exports, an area that has grown sharply as the Kingdom has developed as a regional logistics platform. Some official releases for 2025 showed national non-oil exports excluding re-exports softening in certain periods even while the broader aggregate rose strongly, indicating that part of the jump came from goods moving through Saudi trade and distribution channels rather than solely from domestic factory output. That does not diminish the achievement, but it does show that diversification is unfolding through multiple tracks at once: industrial expansion, services growth and hub-based commerce.
The wider economic backdrop also helps explain the policy urgency. Saudi Arabia’s economy has been leaning more heavily on non-oil activity while oil production and oil-market volatility continue to shape fiscal room. IMF assessments published last year said non-oil real GDP in 2024 grew above 4 per cent, led by private consumption and investment in sectors such as retail, hospitality and construction. At the same time, oil-related constraints and geopolitical strains across the region have kept pressure on trade routes and confidence, making export diversification more than a branding exercise; it has become part of the Kingdom’s economic resilience strategy.
There are, however, fresh signs of strain beneath the export success. Saudi Arabia’s non-oil private sector activity contracted in March 2026 for the first time since 2020, with businesses reporting supply-chain disruption, weaker new orders and a sharp drop in export demand linked to regional conflict and logistics pressure. That suggests the record 2025 export tally was achieved before a more difficult external environment set in. For policymakers, the challenge now is whether the gains of 2025 can be sustained through a period of slower regional growth, shipping disruption and tighter budget choices.
Still, Saudi Arabia enters that period with a stronger non-oil base than it had a few years ago. The sovereign wealth fund’s new 2026-2030 strategy places heavier emphasis on domestic investment, with advanced manufacturing, logistics, clean energy, tourism and infrastructure among the priority ecosystems. That alignment between capital allocation and export ambition could help deepen industrial capacity, raise local value addition and create more sectors capable of earning foreign exchange beyond petroleum. The official export target has long been tied to lifting the non-oil economy’s weight in national output, and the 2025 record gives Riyadh a stronger platform from which to press that agenda.
Topics
Spotlight