Doha: Qatar’s economy has registered a strong recovery during 2021. The latest PMI data of the Qatar Financial Center showed a record improvement in the commercial activity of non-energy private sector companies in October 2021, as they recorded an increase for the fifth month in a row, by about 62.2 points, from 60.6 points in September of the same year.
The record rise in the overall commercial activity growth rate indicates strong growth rates in all four major sectors, namely services, retail and wholesale, manufacturing and construction.
In a related context, a report by the Qatar Chamber showed that the value of private sector exports, until the end of the 3rd quarter of this year, amounted to about QR20.9bn, compared to QR11.1bn for the same period last year, achieving a record increase of more than 88 percent.
Last September, exports recorded a record rise of about QR4.98bn, an increase of more than 350 percent on an annual basis compared to the same month of the year 2020, when they recorded about QR1.09bn. Exports also increased by 164 percent on a monthly basis compared to last August, in which the value of exports amounted to QR1.89bn.
According to the data, the level of exports, at a value of about QR1.95bn at the time, increased by 155 percent, and increased, by a large percentage of more than 771 percent, from the lowest level reached by exports and that was in April of the year 2020 that witnessed the implementation of precautionary measures, which amounted to about QR572m only.
In 2022, the budget of expenditures in Qatar will be QR204.3bn, while the total estimates of revenues in the budget (fiscal year 2022), amounted to QR196bn, which represents an increase of 22.4 percent compared to the estimates of the 2021 budget, while the new budget estimates the deficit of about QR8.3bn and QR17.8bn have been allocated to the education sector, or 8.7% of total expenditures, and QR20bn have been allocated to the health sector, representing 9.8 percent of total expenditures.
Economists expectations indicate that Qatar is able to overcome the deficit in the 2022 budget, based on its rational financial policy and the strength of its economic performance, especially as it succeeded during the first nine months of 2021 in exceeding the expected deficit, and recorded a surplus of about QR4.9bn.
In another indicator that reflects the positive movement of the economy, Qatar’s trade balance during the 3rd quarter of 2021 achieved a surplus of QR57.8bn compared to the third quarter of 2020, when it reached QR19.6bn.
The total value of Qatari exports (including exports of local goods and re-exports) during the mentioned period amounted to QR82.6bn, an increase of QR41.5bn, or 101 percent, compared to the same period last year.
The value of Qatari imports during the mentioned period amounted to QR24.8bn, an increase of QR3.3bn or 15.3 percent compared to the third quarter of 2020, which amounted to QR21.5bn, and a slight decrease from the second quarter of this year.
