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UAE’s non-oil foreign trade closing in on 2024 target

By Pramod Kumar
Non-oil exports to the UAE's top 10 trade partners increased 28.7 percent, while trade with all other nations grew 12.6 percent in the first half of 2024 Wam
Non-oil exports to the UAE's top 10 trade partners increased 28.7 percent, while trade with all other nations grew 12.6 percent in the first half of 2024

The UAE achieved a record-high non-oil foreign trade volume of AED1.4 trillion ($381 billion) in the first half of 2024, progressing steadily toward the year-end target of AED3 trillion ($817 billion).

“A few years ago, we set ambitious national economic goals, aiming for AED4 trillion in foreign trade by 2031 – a goal that was seen as highly challenging at the time,” the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, citing the vice president and prime minister, and ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

He said that the first-half figures indicate that the UAE’s exports in just six months have equalled what the country used to export in an entire year before the pandemic in 2019.

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Trade with Iraq surged 41 percent, followed by Turkey (15 percent) and India (10 percent).

While the global growth rate for foreign trade stands at 1.5 percent, the UAE’s foreign trade has grown 11 percent annually, with non-oil exports up by 25 percent, Sheikh Mohammed said.

Non-oil exports to the top 10 trade partners increased 28.7 percent, while trade with all other nations grew 12.6 percent.

Gold, jewellery, cigarettes, oils, aluminium, copper wires, printed materials, silver, iron industries, and perfumes topped the list of the key export categories, collectively rising 37 percent annually.

Re-exports reached AED345 billion during the period, rising 2.7 percent year on year.

The top re-export markets were Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, the US, Kuwait and Qatar. Kazakhstan joined in with growth that nearly doubled due to higher re-exports of telephone devices.

Overall, re-exports grew 7.6 percent with the top 10 trading partners. Telephones and diamonds were the top re-exported goods, with the highest growth in aircraft parts, cars and goods transport vehicles.

The UAE’s non-oil imports reached AED800 billion, an 11 percent year-on-year increase. Imports from the top 10 markets grew 7.2 percent, accounting for 48.7 percent of total imports.

A significant portion of these imports were re-exported.

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