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Abu Dhabi’s non-oil trade rises 8% as economy expands

By Pramod Kumar
Abu Dhabi Ports
Imports from Abu Dhabi ports grew by 19 percent year on year, reaching AED136.5 billion

Non-oil foreign trade through Abu Dhabi ports grew 8 percent to AED282 billion ($77 billion) in 2023 from AED260 billion in 2022, as the UAE’s economic diversifation plans continue to bear fruit.

Imports grew by 19 percent year on year, reaching AED136 billion, the UAE state-run Wam news agency reported, quoting Abu Dhabi Customs data. Re-export activities rose 11 percent year on year to AED52 billion.

The growth rates reflect Abu Dhabi’s economic expansion across all sectors, said Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, director-general of the general administration of Abu Dhabi Customs.

Abu Dhabi witnessed significant growth in several key economic activities last year, which directly reflected in the growth of foreign trade through its ports, said Abdulla Gharib Al Qemzi, acting director-general of statistics centre – Abu Dhabi.

Abu Dhabi’s non-oil sector expanded by more than 9 percent last year with manufacturing and construction leading the way.

The Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi this month issued preliminary GDP estimates for 2023, revealing non-oil growth of 9.1 percent – slightly down from 9.2 percent in 2022 – as the emirate’s overall economy improved by 3 percent compared to 2022.

The emirate’s GDP in 2023 achieved its best performance in terms of value in 10 years at just over AED1 trillion, the figures also showed, with the non-oil sector contributing 53 percent.

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