According to Al-Watan newspaper, official statistics issued by the Saudi Ministry of Economy and Planning show that the value of the kingdom's non-petroleum exports rose to SR 17.17 billion in the first quarter of 2006, a 9% increase compared with the same period last year.

The weight of Saudi Arabia's non-petroleum exports decreased to 6,851,000 tons in the first quarter of 2006, a 7% withdrawal compared with the same period last year, in which non-petroleum exports' weight amounted to 7,360,000 tons.

© 2006 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)