The MENA region’s merchandise exports grew 9.9% y-o-y in 2022, well above the world average of 2.7% annual growth, amid heightened inflation and soaring commodity prices, according to the World Trade Organization’s Global Trade Outlook and Statistics Report (pdf). The region made strides in trade of both merchandise and commercial services, as well as in digitally delivered services — with the UAE coming out on top in most export sectors.

What does the report track? The report — published twice a year — looks at merchandise trade, which includes agricultural products, iron and steel, chemicals, textiles, clothing, fuels, mining products, automotive products, and office and telecom equipment. Services trade, on the other hand, looks at sectors like transport, travel and goods-related services. The report also tracks the RWI/ISL container throughput index and daily commercial flights for passenger and freight, tracked by FlightRadar24.

The UAE led the pack in the region, with merchandise exports rising 41% y-o-y to USD 599 bn and ranking it the 11th biggest merchandise exporter in the world. Saudi Arabia climbed six spots in the ranking to place 21st, with merchandise exports growing 49% to USD 410 bn. On the imports front, the UAE was the only country in the region to be on the list of biggest importers in the world, ranking at 18 with a 22% increase to USD 425 bn worth of imports in 2022. The region’s imports as a whole grew 9.4% throughout the year, according to the report.

MENA countries ranked higher in merchandise exports when disregarding intra-EU trade: Not considering countries trading within the EU, the UAE ranked seventh in the world, while Saudi Arabia ranked 16th. Iraq comes in at 25, with an estimated USD 132 bn worth of exports, while Qatar followed in 26th place with USD 130 bn in exports. Kuwait ranked in 28th place with USD 104 bn in merchandise exports.

The same applied to imports: Without considering trade within the EU, the UAE is the 13th biggest importer in the world. Saudi Arabia comes in next at 23rd, with USD 188 bn in imports in 2022. Israel imported someUSD 107 bn worth of goods, ranking 26th in the list. Coming in 30th place is Egypt, with USD 86 bn worth of imports during the year.

The UAE also topped the list of commercial service traders in the MENA region: The UAE and Israel were ranked in the top 30 exporters of commercial services, with the UAE ranked in 12 place, with exports worth USD 154 bn, and Israel in 22nd place with USD 93 bn in exports. The UAE imported USD 96 bn worth of commercial services, while Saudi Arabia imported USD 76 bn in 2022, according to the report. Without counting intra-EU trade, Saudi Arabia would make it to the top 30 — with a whopping 302% increase in commercial service exports to USD 39 bn — as would Egypt, which saw its exports rise 27% to USD 27 bn, Qatar, whose exports rose 31% and Morocco, whose exports grew 50%.

The Middle East’s exports of digitally delivered services — or trade that happens through computer networks — rose significantly higher than the global average in 2022, according to the report. In the frontier of exporting digital services in the MENA region, Israel stood in 19th place, exporting some USD 54 bn in digital services in 2022. The UAE followed in 21st place, with USD 45 bn worth of exports.

MENA’s imports and exports are both expected to grow in 2023 — albeit at a slower pace: Export growth is forecast to grow a subdued 0.9% y-o-y this year, before recovering slightly to 4.7% growth y-o-y in 2024. This forecast is presented with downside risks, the biggest of which is a “food crisis” triggering widespread hunger and starvation in low-income countries, the report says. The MENA region’s imports could rise 5.5% y-o-y this year, the WTO estimates.

We’re not too far from the global forecast: The WTO sees global trade rising 1.7% this year. Though it is a slight improvement from its last forecast of 1% growth in October of last year, it still sees trade expansion moving at a “subpar pace” on the back of the ongoing war in Ukraine, stubbornly high inflation, tighter monetary policy and financial uncertainty. “Trade will remain under pressure from external factors, making it more important for governments to avoid fragmentation and refrain from introducing obstacles,” says WTO Director General Nogzi Okonjo-Iweala.

Economic and sociopolitical headwinds caused global trade growth to slow in 2022: The global economy has improved slightly since the last trade forecast by the WTO in October 2022, with trade growth at 2.7% after a slump in 4Q 2022, falling within the WTO’s projected range of 2.4%-3% growth. The slump inhibiting trade growth was caused by the usual recent culprits — rise in commodity prices, increased energy, wheat and grain prices that stem from the Ukraine and Russia war. World merchandise trade rose 12% to USD 25.3 tn underpinned by high global commodity prices, while world commercial services trade increased 15% to USD 6.8 tn, with 3.82 tn of that attributable to digitally delivered services.

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