The National Planning Council (NPC) has released the preliminary figures of Qatar's foreign merchandise trade for December 2025, detailing the value of exports— encompassing domestically produced goods and re-exports—as well as imports.
In December 2025, the total value of merchandise exports amounted to around QR 26.9 bn, reflecting a 13.7% decline compared with December 2024, yet showing a 9.9% increase from November 2025. Meanwhile, merchandise imports rose to about QR 12.8 bn in December 2025, marking a year-on-year rise of 0.6% and a month-on-month increase of 6.7%.
Qatar's foreign merchandise trade balance — defined as the difference between total exports and imports — posted a surplus of QR 14.1 bn in December 2025. This reflects a year‑on‑year decline of QR 4.3 bn, or 23.6%, compared with December 2024, while marking a month-on-month increase of nearly QR 1.6 bn, or 13.0%, relative to November 2025.
Comparing December 2025 with December 2024, exports of “Petroleum Gases and Other Gaseous Hydrocarbons" — encompassing LNG, condensates, propane, butane and related products — declined to approximately QR 15.5 bn, a 21.0% contraction. By contrast, exports of “Crude Petroleum Oils and Oils Obtained from Bituminous Minerals" edged up to around QR 3.8 bn, registering a 0.5% increase. Meanwhile, the value of exports of “Non-crude Petroleum Oils and Oils Obtained from Bituminous Minerals" fell to roughly QR 1.9 bn, reflecting a 28.1% decline.
In December 2025, Qatar's export landscape was led by China, which secured the top destination spot with QR 5.2 bn in trade, representing 19.4% of the country's total exports. India followed as the second-largest market, contributing QR 3.8 bn (14.0%), while South Korea maintained the third position with exports valued at QR 2.1 bn, or 7.7% of the total.
On a year‑on‑year basis, “Motor Cars and Other Motor Vehicles Principally Designed for The Transport of Persons" led Qatar's merchandise imports in December 2025, valued at QR 1.2 bn, marking a 26.7% increase from December 2024. In second place, “Turbojets, Turbopropellers & Other Gas Turbines; Parts Thereof" rose by 16.6% to nearly QR 1.2 bn. Ranking third, imports of “Electrical Apparatus for Line Telephony/Telegraphy, Telephone Sets, and Parts Thereof" amounted to QAR 0.6 bn, marking a rise of 19.1%.
Regarding imports by principal country of origin, China ranked first in Qatar's merchandise imports in December 2025, valued at approximately QR 2.4 bn, representing 18.8% of total imports. The United States followed with imports worth QR 1.7 bn, or 13.5% of the total, while Italy ranked third with around QR 1.0 bn, accounting for 7.5% of the total.
