RIYADH, June 22: The Arab boycott of the US products is starting to bite. Sharp decline has been reported in Saudi-US trade during the recent months.

The US exports to Saudi Arabia fell by more than 30 per cent to $2.8 billion between September 2001 and March this year. In the first quarter of 2002, the US exports to Saudi Arabia fell by 43 per cent to $986 million from $1.74 billion the year before.

Some recent reports indicate that airline reservation to the US in the summer holidays period is down to almost 40 per cent of what it used to be in the years before during the summer holidays season. Some Saudi businessmen, including Prince Amr Al-Faisal, were reported to have cancelled their business contracts with American companies. Zam Zam Cola, an Iranian substitute for Coca Cola, has received an overwhelming support form the Bahraini consumers, where it was launched recently.

The US fast food outlets and the more apparent US trademarks such as Pepsi have borne the brunt of this boycott campaign. Although analysts here agree that the US exports to the region accounted for only a fraction of its global trade, yet many here feel that this is the only weapon in their possession to give the message to the US that anger is seething against in the US in the Arab world.

Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of crude to the US. Saudi exports to the US also fell by 36 per cent to $2.44 billion during the first quarter year-on-year from $3.83 billion. However, some other reasons such as drop in oil prices, changes in dollar value and Opec output curbs may also have impacted these figures, some analysts point out here. The imports from the US dropped by six per cent in 2001, as compared to the previous year. Saudi Arabia mainly imports aircraft, machinery, food products, furniture and motor vehicles from the US, whereas its major exports to the US include petroleum and petrochemical products.

Not only a number of US businessmen have put off travel plan to the Kingdom since September 11, some projects have also been shelved, said Charley Kestenbaum, the commercial officer at the US Embassy in Riyadh.

Provisional Japanese exports to Saudi Arabia have reported a surge of around 20 per cent, in quarter 1, 2002 as compared to the Q1, the year before, underlining the changes in the consumption pattern.