Muscat – Oman’s non-oil trade recorded robust growth in the first half of 2026 despite the regional disruption and uncertainty caused by the US-Iran war, with non-oil exports rising 11.4% to RO3.636bn and re-exports jumping 20% to RO978mn as shipments to key regional and international markets strengthened.

The performance highlights the resilience of Oman’s external trade, with shipments of domestically produced goods and re-export activity both gaining momentum during the January-June period. Stronger trade with key regional and international markets helped offset declines in some major destinations. While exports to the UAE and the US recorded strong gains, shipments to Saudi Arabia declined significantly.

The UAE remained Oman’s largest market for non-oil exports, with shipments nearly doubling to RO1.134bn in the first six months of 2026, up 93.6% from RO586mn a year earlier. In contrast, exports to Saudi Arabia fell 35% to RO357mn from RO548mn in the first half of 2025.

India continued to be another important destination for Omani products, with exports reaching RO333mn during the period, broadly maintaining last year’s level.

Exports to the US, meanwhile, showed stronger momentum, rising 28% to RO241mn from RO189mn a year earlier. The increase points to continued demand for Omani products beyond the Gulf and wider regional markets.

Exports to other markets collectively rose 3.5% to RO1.392bn, compared with RO1.345bn in the first half of 2025.

Metals, chemicals lead export growth

The strength of Oman’s non-oil exports was also reflected in the performance of its major product categories, with base metals and their articles emerging as the largest export segment.

Exports of base metals and their articles rose by more than 25% year-on-year to RO839mn, accounting for nearly a quarter of total non-oil exports in the first half this year. Chemical products ranked second, with exports jumping 34% to RO539mn, while plastics and rubber products contributed RO505mn, an increase of 4.6%.

The gains in these manufacturing and industrial categories underline the growing contribution of value-added products to Oman’s export basket, supporting the country’s broader economic diversification efforts.

However, mineral product exports fell 26% to RO430mn this year from RO582mn in the first half of 2025.

Meanwhile, exports of live animals and animal products increased 10.4% to RO208mn, compared with RO188mn a year earlier, providing another source of growth outside Oman’s traditional mineral-based exports.

Re-exports gain momentum

Oman’s role as a regional logistics and distribution hub also strengthened during the first half of 2026, with re-export activity recording an even faster growth than non-oil exports.

The value of re-exports jumped 20% to RO978mn in the first six months of 2026, compared with RO815mn in the same period last year, the NCSI data showed.

The rise was driven particularly by stronger re-export flows to Iran and Saudi Arabia. Re-exports to Iran surged 96.3% to RO254mn from RO129mn, making the Islamic Republic the largest destination for Oman’s re-export trade during the period.

Re-exports to Saudi Arabia recorded an even sharper percentage increase, soaring 228% to RO188mn from just RO57mn a year earlier.

The strong growth in these two markets more than offset a sharp decline in re-exports to the UAE. Shipments to the UAE fell 36.5% to RO221mn from RO348mn in the first half of 2025.

Transport equipment was the largest contributor to Oman’s re-export activity, with shipments in the category rising 53.6% year-on-year to RO354mn. Re-exports of foodstuffs, beverages and related products also recorded strong growth, increasing 33.7% to RO122mn.

In contrast, re-exports of electrical machinery and equipment declined 9% to RO195mn.