UAE foreign trade surges 11% to $379bn in first half of 2024

RIYADH: The UAE’s foreign trade reached 1.39 trillion dirhams ($379 billion) in the first half of 2024, marking an 11.2 percent increase year on year, according to the latest official data. 

The figures reveal a significant rise in non-oil exports, which totaled 256.4 billion dirhams, up 25 percent from the previous year, according to a statement released by the government. 

Additionally, non-oil exports to the UAE’s top 10 trading partners surged by 33.4 percent, underscoring the country’s growing trade prominence, the Emirates News Agency, also known as WAM, reported. 

This comes as the share of non-oil exports of the UAE’s total foreign trade stands at 18.4 percent. 

This aligns with the UAE’s focus on foreign trade as a key element of its economic strategy, recognizing its crucial role in driving industrial output, boosting global competitiveness, and fostering innovation. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, UAE vice president and prime minister and ruler of Dubai, said: “A few years ago, we set ambitious national economic goals, aiming for 4 trillion dirhams in foreign trade by 2031 — a goal that was seen as highly challenging at the time.”  

He added: “Today, the figures for the first half of 2024 show that our exports in just six months have equaled what we used to export in an entire year before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019. Our foreign trade is nearing 1.4 trillion dirhams in these six months, with a 25 percent growth in non-oil exports. Our target is to achieve 3 trillion dirhams in non-oil foreign trade by the end of this year.”  

Dubai’s ruler also noted that economic relations with various countries had strengthened, with trade increasing by 10 percent with India, 15 percent with Türkiye, and 41 percent with Iraq, which had become the top destination for UAE exports, followed by India, Turkiye, and others. 

UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al-Zeyoudi noted that key sectors such as gold, silver, and jewelry, as well as oils, perfumes, aluminum, copper wires, and iron products, were instrumental in the rise of non-oil exports, reflecting the country’s improved global competitiveness. 

“Our re-export operations also increased, highlighting our status as a global trade hub and reflecting international confidence in the UAE as a reliable trade partner and facilitator. Moreover, our performance defies the global trend of slowing trade growth, which averaged just 1.5 percent in the first half of this year,” he added.   

The minister continued by stating that this achievement highlights the UAE economy’s resilience, a result of the nation’s steadfast commitment to building strong public-private partnerships and fostering collaborative growth with emerging global economies. 

“As we look to the future, we will ensure that the UAE continues to leverage the power of trade to drive sustainable, long-term economic growth and prosperity for our nation,” Al-Zeyoudi concluded.