The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade rose 18.6% y-o-y to AED 835 bn in 1Q 2025, Dubai Ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in an X post. The UAE’s trade performance outpaced the global average growth during the quarter of 2-3%, buoyed by record levels of “social, economic, and strategic stability and prosperity.”

Exports drove growth: Non-oil exports surged 40.7% y-o-y and 15.7% q-o-q to AED 177.3 bn during the quarter, according to a Dubai Media Office statement, marking the first time they’ve accounted for more than 21% of total non-oil trade. Re-exports hit AED 189.1 bn, up 6% y-o-y, while imports rose 17.2% y-o-y to AED 468.6 bn, though they slipped 1.7% from the previous quarter.

Top trade partners: Trade with the UAE’s 10 biggest partners rose 20.2% y-o-y in 1Q. Saudi Arabia led with a 127% jump, followed by India (+31%), China (+9.6%), and Turkey (+8.3%).

REFRESHER- The UAE’s GDP grew 4% in 2024 to AED 1.7 tn, with the non-oil sector contributing 75.5% to output. Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade rose 25.7% to AED 89.6 bn in 1Q 2025, and on a yearly basis had grown by 7.6% to AED 306 bn in 2024.

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade is now expected to hit AED 4 tn by 2027 — four years ahead of schedule, the statement reads. The country is currently in talks with 17 countries on potential economic and trade partnership agreements, including Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, with four to six new agreements expected this year. The UAE is also in negotiations with the US on a bilateral trade agreement that could ease tariffs on Emirati steel and aluminium exports.

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