Abu Dhabi: Non-oil foreign trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia grew by 92.5 per cent over the past decade to Dh124.69 billion by the end of 2021, compared with Dh64.79 billion by end of 2012, according to statistics from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC).
Trade between the two countries in the first half of 2022 totalled Dh65.7 billion, data showed.
The total value of non-oil exports from the UAE to Saudi Arabia over the past 10 years was around Dh205.5 billion, while re-exports were valued at Dh471.7 billion, and imports at Dh227 billion.
From 2012 to 2021, Saudi Arabia was the UAE’s fourth leading trading partner, with their trade exchange amounting to Dh904.3 billion, or 5.6 per cent of the UAE’s total international trade.
Saudi Arabia was ranked first in the list of countries that received re-exports from the UAE over the past 10 years, valued at nearly Dh423 billion. It was also ranked second in the list of countries receiving Emirati non-oil exports, with a value of Dh206 billion, constituting 9.5 per cent of the UAE’s total non-oil exports.
According to data, the trade exchange between the two countries in 2013 was Dh79.9 billion, decreasing in 2014 to Dh75.5 billion, and increasing again in 2015 to Dh83.3 billion.
The non-oil trade exchange between the two countries totalled Dh71.5 billion in 2016 and Dh79.2 billion in 2017. In 2018, it crossed the Dh100 billion mark.
In 2019, their non-oil trade exchange was valued at Dh113.2 billion, and in 2020, it amounted to some Dh104 billion.
In 2021, the trade exchange between the UAE and Saudi Arabia amounted to Dh124.6 billion, a rise of 20 per cent compared to 2020, and 10 per cent compared to 2019.
Re-exports represented 48 per cent of the total trade between the two countries in 2021, valued at more than Dh59.78 billion while exports accounted for 30 per cent, with a value of more than Dh37.85 billion, and merchandise imports for 22 per cent valued at more than Dh26.97 billion.
In 2021, petroleum and oil obtained from bituminous minerals topped the list of Emirati imports, with a value of over Dh5 billion.
Gold topped the list of key commodities exported to Saudi Arabia in 2021, with a value of Dh10.9 billion.
Telephone devices, including phones for cellular networks and other wireless networks, topped the list of goods that were re-exported to Saudi Arabia in 2021, with a value of Dh11.58 billion.
