Mohammed bin Rashid: UAE Non-Oil Foreign Trade Hits All-Time High

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, affirmed that the UAE under the leadership of President Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, continues to achieve unprecedented milestones in its non-oil foreign trade.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum remarked, "A few years ago, we set ambitious national economic goals, aiming for AED 4 trillion in foreign trade by 2031—a goal that was seen as highly challenging at the time.

"Today, the figures for the first half of 2024 show that our exports in just six months have equalled what we used to export in an entire year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.

"Our foreign trade is nearing AED 1.4 trillion in these six months, with a 25% growth in non-oil exports. Our target is to achieve AED 3 trillion in non-oil foreign trade by the end of this year."

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also noted: "Our economic relations with various countries have strengthened, with trade increasing by 10% with India, 15% with Turkey, and 41% with Iraq, making Iraq the top destination for UAE exports, followed by India, Turkey, and others."

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added: "While the global growth rate for foreign trade is around 1.5%, our foreign trade has grown by 11.2% annually, as we continue to advance toward our goals."

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid concluded: "The steadfast support of the Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, who has cultivated exceptional international relations with countries around the world, and through the tireless efforts of thousands of teams from both the public and private sectors.

"The flag rises, the nation and the region prosper, and our future is brighter, higher, and more promising."

Trade growth in all metrics

The UAE’s non-oil exports to its top 10 trade partners grew by 28.7%, while all other nations saw a 12.6% increase in trade.

Gold, jewelry, cigarettes, oils, aluminum, copper wires, printed materials, silver, iron industries, and perfumes topped the list of the UAE’s most important export categories in the first half of 2024, collectively growing by 36.8% compared to the same period in 2023. Other goods grew by 1%.

Re-exports reached AED345.1 billion in the first half of 2024, growing by 2.7% compared to the same period in 2023, and increasing by 11.2% compared to the same period in 2022. Re-exports with key trading partners all grew, particularly Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, the United States, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Kazakhstan joined the list of leading re-export partners, nearly doubling its growth due to increased re-exports of telephone devices. Overall, re-exports grew by 7.6% with the top ten trading partners.

Telephones and diamonds were the top re-exported goods, with the highest growth seen in re-exports of aircraft parts, cars, and goods transport vehicles.

The UAE’s non-oil imports approached AED800 billion in the first half of 2024, growing by 11.3% compared to the same period in 2023 and increasing by 34.6% compared to the same period in 2022. A significant portion of these imports are re-exported.

Imports from the top ten markets grew by 7.2%, accounting for over 48.7% of total imports. Other countries, which account for 51.3% of UAE imports, grew by 15.4% in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

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