After restoring Qatari-Saudi ties, trade within the GCC is anticipated to surge in the next upcoming months.

Last week’s positive news had a huge impact on the stock market as investors rushed to trade just minutes after they opened. 

Experts are now anticipating a sharp rise in business as imports and exports gradually return back to normal after three years of blockade.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia along with Bahrain, UAE, and Egypt shut their land, air, and sea borders to Doha cutting all ties with the country including exports and imports from and to Qatar.

Consequently Qatar’s trade with the GCC was limited to imports and exports with Oman and Kuwait only. 

According to statistics, experts anticipate a significant increase in trade between Qatar and the former blockading states this year.

In 2021, Qatar-GCC trade will include imports and exports with all states within the bloc. This in turn will lead to noticeable economic recovery on the state’s level.

Doha News reported on Saturday that Saudi customs at the Salwa land border had begun receiving arrivals from Qatar. 

According to the Planning and Statistics Authority, Qatar’s total trade volume with the GCC in the third quarter of last year was around QR3.18bn. 

This total represents Qatar’s exports to the GCC countries which were around QR2.47bn and Doha’s imports from the GCC which were around QR707m. 

“The opening of the border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia is very good news for overall trade. Now we will see a smooth flow of goods between Qatar and the GCC. We expect a rise in the trade of food items, pharmaceutical products and construction-related products in the coming months,” reported by a local media outlet.

The report also states that “apart from the flow of goods, the opening of the border is also good news for the service sector. We will see resumption of movement of professionals from the service sector. We have already read news about cars entering Saudi Arabia yesterday.” 

Read also: Qatari-Saudi deal to boost investor confidence in GCC region: experts

During the first quarter of last year, the trade volume between Qatar and the GCC was around QR2.46bn. 

This amount covered Qatar’s exports to the GCC which reached around QR1.63bn and imports by Qatar to the GCC which reached around QR830m.

During the second quarter of 2020, the total trade volume between Qatar and the GCC reached approximately QR3.72bn. 

This total amount consisted of QR2.96bn worth exports from Qatar while imports by Qatar were around QR755m.

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