– UAE non-oil foreign trade increases 11.2% year-
on-year in first six months of 2024
– Contribution of non-oil exports to total trade
reaches record milestone at 18.4% compared to
16.4% in H1 2023
– CEPA program driving trade growth with India and
Türkiye, increasing by 9.8% and 15% respectively
Abu Dhabi, 25 August 2024: 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 percent in the first half of
2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
