RIYADH: Qatar’s private sector exports declined 28 percent to 18.5 billion Qatari riyals ($5.08 billion) in the first nine months, the official data showed. According to the Qatar Chamber, the private sector exports for the first nine months of 2022 were 26 billion riyals. The organization’s recent trade report found that private sector exports for the third quarter slumped 47 percent to 3.25 billion riyals compared to 6.1 billion riyals accrued between May and June. It also nosedived 65 percent compared to 9.3 billion riyals earned in the corresponding period of 2022. In terms of certificates of origin, 65 percent of the exports in the third quarter were done through general model certification. While the Gulf Cooperation Council model constituted 19 percent of the exports, the Arab region framework and the united certificate for Singapore comprised 12 percent and 5 percent, respectively. Notably, there were no recorded exports through the agricultural or animal certificate model, and exports were suspended through the preferences model. The report highlighted iron products experienced a 158 percent surge in export value in the third quarter, followed by a 5 percent increase in aluminum products. Chemical fertilizers had a modest increase of 0.6 percent, the report added. However, essential and industrial oils experienced a 69 percent slump in export value. Fuel products saw a 54 percent fall. While paraffin dropped by 40 percent, low-density polyethylene recorded a 15 percent decline. Qatari private sector exports also reached 100 nations during the third quarter compared to 99 countries in the same period last year. Among economic regions, Asian countries, excluding the GCC and Arab countries, emerged as the top destination, accounting for 34.6 percent of the total export value. The EU followed with 27.3 percent, trailed by the GCC countries at 22.6 percent. Arab countries secured the fourth position with 12.7 percent, and the US claimed the fifth spot with 1.7 percent.