Dubai: 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.
Sheikh Mohammed announced that the UAE's exports in the first half of 2024 have matched the full-year output pre-COVID in 2019 in just six months, and the country's foreign trade has nearly reached Dh1.4 trillion, with a remarkable 25 percent growth in non-oil exports.
Taking to his X account to make the announcement, Sheikh Mohammed said: "A few years ago, we set ambitious national economic goals, aiming for Dh4 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 Dh1.4 trillion in these six months, with a 25 per cent growth in non-oil exports. Our target is to achieve Dh3 trillion in non-oil foreign trade by the end of this year."
Sheikh Mohammed also noted, "Our economic relations with various countries have strengthened, with trade increasing by 10 per cent with India, 15 per cent with Turkey, and 41 per cent with Iraq, making Iraq the top destination for UAE exports, followed by India, Turkey, and others."
Sheikh Mohammed added, "While the global growth rate for foreign trade is around 1.5 per cent, our foreign trade has grown by 11.2 per cent annually, as we continue to advance toward our goals."
"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,” Sheikh Mohammed.
Trade growth in all metrics
The UAE’s non-oil exports to its top 10 trade partners grew by 28.7 per cent, while all other nations saw a 12.6 per cent 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 per cent compared to the same period in 2023. Other goods grew by 1 per cent.
Re-exports reached Dh345.1 billion in the first half of 2024, growing by 2.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2023, and increasing by 11.2 per cent 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 per cent 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 Dh800 billion in the first half of 2024, growing by 11.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2023 and increasing per cent by 34.6 per cent 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 per cent, accounting for over 48.7 per cent of total imports. Other countries, which account for 51.3 per cent of UAE imports, grew by 15.4 percent in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.
