UAE's non-oil foreign trade reached 1.9 trillion dirhams ($517 billion) in 2021, representing a 27 percent increase from 2020 and an 11 percent increase from 2019.
In all areas of trade, including exports, imports, and reexports, growth was consistent.
The value of non-oil exports reached a record high of 354 billion dirhams ($96.3 billion), exceeding 300 billion dirhams ($81.6 billion) for the very first time in its history, representing a growth of 33.3 percent over the December 2020 figure and 47.3 percent over the December 2019 figure.
A statement from UAE Minister of Economy Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri said that the UAE's foreign trade has passed the point of recovery from the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on global trade and has entered an advanced stage of growth and prosperity today, with an increase of more than 11 percent over pre-pandemic levels.
“The all-encompassing nature of the positive results of import and export activities and re-exports in all the emirates of the country reflects a systematic and integrated growth based on flexible and highly efficient trade policies and sustainable development measures.”
Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani Al Zeyoudi said that trade activity in the UAE saw an acceptable growth average over the past two years. As foreign trade grows, it is showing more positivity today.
Re-exports were valued at 521.3 billion dirhams ($141.8 billion) in 2021, showing a growth of 27.7 percent compared to 2020 and 1.6 percent compared to 2019.
Meanwhile, the total value of the country's imports during 2021 amounted to about 1 trillion dirhams ($272 billion), showing a growth of 23.8 percent over the year 2020, and about 7 percent from 2019.
China ranked first as the country's largest trading partner in 2021. India ranked second, which accounts for 8.7 percent of the country's total non-oil trade, followed by Saudi Arabia in the third position with a contribution of 6.6 percent.
The fourth went to the United States, whose trade exchange has grown by 8.1 percent since 2020. Iraq ranked in the fifth place.
About the country's export destinations, India emerged as the top destination. KSA became second largest recipient of the UAE exports.
