Xifres de comerç exterior dels Emirats Àrabs Units

Foreign Trade in Figures

The United Arab Emirates is among the world’s most dynamic markets in terms of foreign trade, with trade accounting for 167% of the GDP according to the latest available data from World Bank. The country is one of the world's top 20 largest exporters and importers of commodities and the largest trading nation in the Middle East. Oil products are by far the largest item of exports (the country is the world’s 5th oil exporter), followed by gold, telephone sets, diamonds, and jewellery. Gold is also among the major imports, along with telephones, diamonds, motor cars, and jewellery (data Comtrade).

Saudi Arabia is the top destination of Emirati exports (6.2%), followed by India (5.6%), Iraq (3.4%), Hong Kong (2.5%), Oman (2.4%), and Kuwait (2.2%). China (14.9%), India (6%), the United States (4.9%), Japan (3.1%) and Turkey (2.8%) are among the United Arab Emirates' main suppliers of goods and services. The recent UAE-Israel normalization deal, which comprises trade and technology cooperation and allows UAE oil to be sent directly to Europe via an Israeli pipeline, should positively impact trade in the upcoming future. In 2022, the country also signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with Indonesia and India, with more agreements under discussion with partners like Turkey, Colombia, Ukraine, Cambodia, etc.

The United Arab Emirates has a structurally positive trade balance, but the surplus is closely linked to global oil prices. In 2021, the country recorded a trade surplus accounting for 25.3% of its GDP (World Bank). According to WTO data, in the same year, the UAE exported USD 425.1 billion worth of goods (+33.1% y-o-y) and USD 101.8 billion (+66.2% y-o-y) of services, importing USD 347.5 billion (+53.9% y-o-y) worth of goods and USD 76.1 billion worth services (+30.8% y-o-y). Preliminary estimates by the UAE government indicate that the UAE’s foreign trade is expected to reach about USD 599.4 billion by the end of 2022, marking a 15% growth compared to one year earlier. Moreover, for the first nine months of the year, non-oil exports accounted for almost 20% of the UAE's total trade, a significant jump from 11% just five years ago.