The UAE non-oil foreign trade hit a historical new record, with the value approaching AED 1.4 trillion for the first half of 2024, growing year-on-year by 11.2%. That does underline very strongly the good economic policy of the nation and, consequently, its cemented place as one of the big world trading centers.
These were driven by a strong 25% surge in non-oil exports, which amounted to AED 256.4 billion, quite an increase from that of 2023. Non-oil imports hit close to AED 800 billion, higher by 11.3% when gauged on a yearly basis. Re-exports had achieved roughly AED 345.1 billion at the end of H1 2024, increasing by 2.7% over the previous year. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, commented on this significant milestone, saying: “A few years ago, we outlined ambitious targets for our national economy, reaching for a collective AED 4 trillion in foreign trade by 2031-a goal that was considered at the time to be very challenging to achieve.”.
In human terms, the numbers through the first half of 2024 reveal that exports in only half a year equaled what we used to have in a year before the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2019, Sheikh Mohammed said.
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In perspective, the UAE targets AED 3 trillion non-oil foreign trade by end of 2024. It is an ambitious target underlined by robust economic relations with main trading partners. Exports to India went up by 10%, whereas Turkey was up by 15% and Iraq by a meteoric 41%. It has caused Iraq to emerge as the UAE’s number one export destination, followed by close neck-to-neck competition with India and Turkey. It is, therefore, a major strategic milestone within the UAE to diversify the economy away from the vulnerability in oil revenue and to increase its global trade footprint.
Major Milestones in UAE’s Foreign Trade on Path to 2024: UAE non-oil Trade Resilience, UAE Exports Boost UAE Economic Relations Re-exports on the Rise in the UAE
