The Statistics Department of the Ministry of Planning has reported that during 1999 the Kingdom imported medicine valued at SR 3,347 million [U.S. $ 892.53 million], representing 3 percent of total imports. Imports of wood and wooden products accounted for SR 1,259 million [U.S. $ 335.73 million], or 1 percent of the total. Both figures are down from those for 1998.

In May, the Department of Customs at the Ministry of Finance and National Economy reported that the value of imports into Saudi Arabia during the first half of 1999 amounted to SR 62 billion [U.S. $ 16.53 billion], a decrease of 9.4 percent over the same period in 1998. Topping the list were electrical appliances, accounting for 24.5 percent of the total, followed by vehicles, at 17.7 percent, and chemicals, at 8.3 percent.

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