Non-oil foreign trade hits AED 1.94 tn in 1H 2026

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reached AED 1.94 tn in 1H 2026, up 13.1% y-o-y, state news agency Wam reports. Non-oil exports hit a record AED 452.8 bn, up 23.9% y-o-y, lifting exports’ share of total non-oil trade to 23.4% from 21.3% a year earlier. Total trade is now 78.8% above 1H 2022 levels.

Trade diplomacy is pulling its weight: Trade with countries where comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPAs) are in force reached AED 304.3 bn in the first half, including AED 66.1 bn in non-oil exports.

ICYMI- The UAE has been on a CEPA kick for a while now, having concluded 37 trade agreements, with 17 already in force. The latest was its Ukraine agreement, which took effect this month and removes customs duties on almost all bilateral trade.

Top partners and sectors: China was the Emirates’ largest trading partner, accounting for AED 180.7 bn, followed by Switzerland with AED 138.4 bn, and India with AED 107.5 bn. Gold was the most traded commodity, accounting for AED 706.2 bn, followed by telecoms at AED 189.7 bn.

Are we up for a record? The UAE is already more than halfway to last year’s full-year trade total. First-half activity was equal to 51% of 2025’s annual trade value, with average monthly trade at AED 322.8 bn and daily flows averaging AED 10.7 bn, according to Arabian Business. Matching last year’s total would require another AED 1.86 tn in the second half.