• Abdullah bin Touq: The historical results of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade come as a translation of the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership and its approach to openness and cooperation with the world.
• Thani Al-Zeyoudi: The record levels of our foreign trade in 2022 will be a starting point for continuing efforts to expand the country’s network of strategic trading partners, in implementation of the directives of the wise leadership.
• National non-oil exports recorded 366 billion dirhams in 2022, with a growth of 6%, 38%, and 52%, compared to 2021, 2020, and 2019, respectively, in an indication of the success of economic diversification plans.
• Re-exports exceed 600 billion dirhams in 2022, recording 614.6 billion dirhams, a growth of 14% compared to 2021.
• The country’s imports, in turn, set a new record of 1252.4 billion dirhams, a growth of 22%.
• Gold, aluminum, oils and cigarettes maintain their position at the forefront of the country’s most important exports. Iron exports recorded the highest growth in 2022, followed by jewelry.
ABU DHABI, 6th February, 2020 (WAM) — The non-oil foreign trade of the United Arab Emirates continued to achieve unprecedented records after it crossed for the first time in its history the barrier of two trillion dirhams, recording 2 trillion and 233 billion dirhams in 2022, a growth of 17% compared to 2021.
And the state’s trade had continued to record record growth rates since its recovery from the negative repercussions of the Covid 19 pandemic, which had negatively affected global trade flows, and after the state’s trade had declined in 2020 by 12%, recording 1.496 trillion dirhams, it jumped by a growth rate of 28%. % in 2021, achieving 1.911 trillion dirhams, to continue its upward trend strongly in 2022, exceeding expectations for a growth of 17%.
According to a report issued by the Ministry of Economy on indicators and results of the country’s non-oil foreign trade, these unprecedented historical figures came in 2022, supported by a record growth in non-oil exports, in a new indication of the success of the national economy diversification plans as well as the strategy of expanding the network of trading partners.
And the national non-oil exports achieved a record in 2022, recording 366 billion dirhams for the first time in its history, with a growth of 6% compared to 2021, an increase of 38% compared to 2020, and 52% compared to 2019, and the country’s non-oil exports were recorded with the 10 largest partners. Commercial exports grew by 7%, and gold, aluminum, oils and cigarettes maintained their position at the forefront of the country’s most important exports. In parallel, iron exports witnessed the highest growth during 2022, followed by jewelry.
The contribution of non-oil national exports to the country’s total foreign trade amounted to 16.4%, despite the significant growth in both imports and re-exports.
His Excellency Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, affirmed that the historical results of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade come as a translation of the forward-looking vision of the wise leadership and its approach to openness and cooperation with the world in order to achieve sustainable economic growth. He said: The continuation of the country’s foreign trade in achieving unprecedented growth rates, despite global expectations of a slowdown in global trade, confirms the success of the country’s plans and strategies to expand its network of trade partners in conjunction with the continuation of economic diversification efforts, which was clearly reflected in the growth of the country’s non-oil exports.
His Excellency added: This historic recovery in the country’s foreign trade also confirms that plans to double the GDP to 3 trillion dirhams by 2030, of which trade is an integral part, are also going in the right direction.
For his part, His Excellency Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, affirmed that these historical figures for the country’s foreign trade, achieved in 2022, will be a solid starting point for continuing the country’s efforts to expand the network of strategic trading partners, in implementation of the vision and directives of the wise leadership that established the expansion of partnerships. The country’s global economy is at the top of the government’s priorities in 2023, which will give more impetus to the tireless efforts to conclude more comprehensive economic partnership agreements, after the UAE succeeded in 2022 in completing 3 agreements with India, Israel and Indonesia, in addition to the continuation of talks aimed at Signing more agreements with a select group of markets of strategic importance regionally and globally.
His Excellency pointed out that the countries and blocs with which the state aims to conclude agreements represent about 95% of global trade, and this trend creates more opportunities for growth and prosperity for the state’s non-oil trade to achieve the goals of the “50 Projects” and “We Are the Emirates 2031 Vision” aimed at To increase the UAE’s foreign trade to 4 trillion dirhams, and to increase non-oil exports to 800 billion dirhams, in conjunction with efforts to establish the country’s position as a global business center and a preferred destination for talented, innovative and creative ideas, and a haven for foreign direct investment flows looking for promising opportunities.
And in continuation of setting records, the value of re-exports in 2022 exceeded 600 billion dirhams for the first time in its history, recording 614.6 billion dirhams, a growth of 14% compared to 2021.
Most of the ten main re-export markets witnessed a remarkable annual growth combined of 13% compared to 2021, noting that the rest of the countries achieved a growth of 15%. These ten markets are: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, Oman, Kuwait, China, the United States, Hong Kong and Belgium; Telephones and diamonds were the two most important commodities in re-exports, but the largest growth was seen in aircraft parts, petroleum oils, headphones and auto parts.
Concurrently, the UAE’s imports set a new record by exceeding the barrier of 1250 billion dirhams in 2022, recording 1252.4 billion dirhams for the first time in its history as well, with a growth of 22% compared to what was recorded in 2021.
The country’s imports increased from most of the main markets during 2022, as the top 10 markets from which the UAE imports witnessed a growth of 24%. These markets are: China, India, the United States, Japan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.
In general, the list of the country’s most important trading partners did not change during 2022, and the country achieved growth in total foreign trade with all of them, with the exception of Hong Kong. Together, these countries contribute 46.8% of the UAE’s non-oil trade; These ten countries are, in order: China, India, Saudi Arabia, the United States of America, Iraq, Switzerland, Japan, Oman, Turkey and Hong Kong.
