UAE-Saudi non-oil trade surges 70% to $37bn in last decade

Wam/Handout via Reuters

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Non-oil trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia reached AED 136.09 billion ($37.05 billion) in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 9 percent.

The two Gulf neighbours have seen their trade relationship grow by 70 percent over the past 10 years to AED 975.5 billion, according to data from the Federal Centre for Competitiveness Statistics.

Scott Livermore, chief economist at Oxford Economics, expects the amounts to keep rising.

“Although some of the increase in the trade value will have been driven by higher prices, the growth since last year and over the past decade show the positive spillover impacts of sustained growth in both countries,” he said. 

“Both countries will continue to target export growth further afield, in particular Asia, but the latest data shows opportunities exist regionally.”

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Non-oil trade last year consisted of AED 34 billion worth of exports from Saudi Arabia to the UAE, while non-oil exports from the UAE to Saudi Arabia amounted to AED 35.6 billion, and re-exports, AED 66.4 billion.

Top 5 imports to UAE from Saudi Arabia in 2022

Commodity	Value (AED)
Mineral oils	10.8 billion
Ethylene polymers	3.6 billion
Raw gold	1.7 billion
Insulated wires and cables for electricity	1.1 billion
Laundry products	811 million

Top 5 imports to Saudi Arabia from UAE in 2022

Commodity	Value (AED)
Raw gold	8.7 billion
Ornaments and jewellery	2.5 billion
Copper wires	2.4 billion
Flat products of iron or steel	891 million
Mineral oils	829 million

Top 5 re-exports from UAE to Saudi Arabia in 2022

Commodity	Value (AED)
Communication devices and equipment	9.1 billion
Data processing machines	6.6 billion
Woven clothing	2.3 billion
Parts and accessories for vehicles	2.2 billion
Jewellery	1.9 billion

Michael Bessey, GCC regional representative for global public affairs consulting firm ASG, said he would characterise the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the UAE as close, but there is growing economic competition between the two Gulf states.

In 2021 Saudi Arabia announced it would stop working with foreign companies unless they established regional headquarters in the kingdom by 2024.

This was relaxed at the start of this year with companies with foreign operations not exceeding SAR 1 million ($266,000) exempt from the ruling.

The initial announcement spurred sweeping reforms in the UAE to boost the country’s economic competitiveness, relaxing rules around foreign labour and encouraging inward investment. Dubai has also introduced a range of visa initiatives aimed at attracting talent to the emirate.

Bessey said the extent of the competition has been “overstated” and believed a strong Saudi Arabia would complement the UAE.

“The UAE always tends to benefit from the growth of the region as a whole and Saudi Arabia specifically,” he said.