UAE’s non-oil trade rises 17% to exceed Dhs1tn in H1 2022

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade recorded a new milestone, exceeding Dhs1tn in H1 2022.

This achievement reflects a growth rate of 17 per cent compared to H1 2021, and an increase of 25 per cent and 35 per cent compared to the same period in the years 2020 and 2019 respectively, according to the state news agency, WAM.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, confirmed the UAE’s robust performance in a tweet.

For the first time, the UAE Non-oil foreign trade exceeds AED one trillion in just half a year.. We reached one trillion and 58 billion dirhams, recording an increase of 17% over the previous half year.

— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) August 22, 2022

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid said: “Our economic growth is progressive, our trade environment and infrastructure are the best and our economic approach is stable, fair and open to everyone… The growth of our economy will continue its strong pace in the coming year.”

Highlights of H1 2022
The UAE’s non-oil exports were close to Dhs180bn for the first time in its history. It reflected a  growth rate of 8 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, an increase of 53 per cent compared to the first half of 2020, 50 per cent compared to the same period in 2019, and a growth rate of 69 per cent with the same period of 2018. It nearly doubled compared to what it had recorded during the same period in 2017.

In terms of re-export, the UAE recorded unprecedented achievements during this period, approaching Dhs300bn for the first time in its history. The results showed a high growth rate compared to previous years, as they increased by 20 per cent, 51 per cent, 16 per cent and 23 per cent compared to the same periods in 2021 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.

The UAE’s imports increased, approaching Dhs580bn during H1 2022, for the first time in its history as well. It recorded a growth of 19 per cent compared to the same period in 2021, 49 per cent compared to the same period of 2020, 24 per cent compared to the first half of 2019, and 25 per cent compared to the same period in 2018.

On the other hand, the contribution of imports from the UAE’s non-oil trade, decreased to 55 per cent, while the share of non-oil exports became 17 per cent. In addition, the share of re-exports reached 28 per cent.

Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said, “The unprecedented performance demonstrated by the non-oil foreign trade can be attributed to the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership, which aims to expand the UAE’s trade with the world and position it as a major contributor to the doubling of the national economy by 2030.”

Read: UAE reports nearly Dhs500bn in non-oil foreign trade for Q1 2022