The Middle East supplies 30 key products to the world, far more than just oil and natural gas

Investing.com - According to the latest report by Barclays analyst Zornitsa Todorova, the Middle East’s role in the global supply chain extends far beyond oil and natural gas. The analyst identified 30 key products, with the Middle East accounting for over 10% of the global trade value in these products.

Get in-depth analyst research exclusively on InvestingPro

Todorova analyzed 1,200 products across 280 trade channels and 70 major economies. She stated that the bank’s research highlights significant but underappreciated risk exposures in the chemicals, construction, agriculture, and basic manufacturing sectors.

The analyst wrote that the region’s importance “stems from a critical dependence on industrial inputs.”

Barclays found that the Middle East supplies 62% of limestone flux, about 50% of sulfur, 23% of nitrogen fertilizers, and approximately 20% of key petrochemical raw materials globally.

The bank noted that these risk exposures “far exceed those in the energy sector,” with these industrial raw materials mainly flowing to India, China, and the United States.

This analysis is based on the latest data from the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, tracking trade flows from nine Middle Eastern export countries, including Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

Todorova pointed out that this dataset enables Barclays to identify “key (or highly exposed) products, meaning those in which these nine Middle Eastern countries collectively account for more than 10% of the total global supply value.”

Barclays emphasized the vulnerability in the chemicals sector, such as methanol, aromatics, phenols, and polyolefins, as well as construction materials like limestone, gypsum, and aluminum products.

The agricultural sector also faces risk exposure through nitrogen, phosphorus, and compound fertilizers.

“There are also smaller but still substantial risk exposures in metals, shipping, and luxury goods, including aluminum, ships, diamonds, and gold. Disruptions in these areas could lead to a rebalancing of trade flows rather than a complete elimination of supply,” Barclays concluded.

This article was translated with the assistance of artificial intelligence. For more information, please see our Terms of Use.