Mohammed bin Rashid: The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade exceeds 3.8 trillion dirhams for the first time in its history

DUBAI, 31st JANUARY / WAM / His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, “may God protect him,” affirmed the completion of the investment environment of the UAE, the doubling of its international partnership, the strengthening of the partnership with the private sector, and the consolidation of the world’s confidence in the United Arab Emirates.

His Highness said: “Today I reviewed the results of the foreign trade report… The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade, for the first time in its history, exceeded one trillion dollars (3.8 trillion dirhams)… an increase of 26.8% over the previous year… and our non-oil exports, according to a new report that I reviewed today, exceeded 813 billion dirhams, with an exceptional growth of 45.5% over the previous year.”

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added: “These numbers were targets that we announced 3 years ago that we would reach by 2031. 95% of them were achieved five years early. Our investment environment has been completed. Our international partnerships have doubled. Our partnerships with the private sector have been strengthened. The world’s confidence in the United Arab Emirates has been firmly established, thank God.”

His Highness added: “We congratulate all our national teams… and our message to them is: to double the work… and consolidate the partnership with the private sector to build a better economic future.”

In detail, the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade during 2025 recorded about 3.8 trillion dirhams ($1.03 trillion), a growth of 27% compared to 2024 and an increase of 44.3% compared to 2023, as well as a growth of 65% and 97.4% compared to the years 2022 and 2021, respectively, and it approached double the number recorded in 2021. It exceeded double the number 2019. In the last quarter of 2025, the UAE’s non-oil trade recorded 1.1 trillion dirhams, for the first time in its history, with a growth of 33.1%, supported by a record growth in non-oil exports, which amounted to 234.4 billion dirhams during the same period, an increase of 53.2% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024 and an increase of 12% compared to the third quarter of 2025.

By the end of 2025, the contribution of exports increased to 21.6% of the UAE’s total non-oil trade, for the first time in the country’s history, compared to 18.8% at the end of 2024, and rising from 16.5% during 2022 and only 14.1% 6 years ago, specifically at the end of 2019.

UAE non-oil exports amounted to 813.8 billion dirhams by the end of 2025, with a growth rate of more than 45.5% compared to 2024, and an increase of 85% compared to 2023, thus continuing its upward trend for years, as it exceeded 3 times the number of exports during 2019, and more than double the number in 2022 and 2021. Non-oil exports were the best performing and most growing among the rest of the components of the period. The country’s foreign trade in non-oil goods, which was reflected in an increase in its share in the total value of non-oil trade, recording 21.6%. Thanks to this, the targets of the We Are the UAE 2031 vision were exceeded by more than 13.8 billion dirhams.

Among the most important partners for UAE non-oil exports, the UAE’s exports to the 14 partner countries in the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements that entered into force until the end of 2025 amounted to 175.5 billion dirhams, with a growth of 18.2% and contributing 21.6% of total exports to the world during 2025.

The list of the most important UAE exports included gold, jewelry, aluminium, cigarettes, refined petroleum oils, ethylene polymers, copper wires, precious metal compounds, rubylene polymers, and perfumes. Together, they achieved a growth of 64.5% compared to 2024, and the highest growth rate was for precious metal compounds, plastic plastic products, gold, jewelry, perfumes, aluminum, and copper wire.

As for re-export operations, they amounted to 830.2 billion dirhams by the end of 2025 ($226 billion), a growth of 15.7% compared to 2024, and an increase of 21.3% and 29% compared to 2023 and 2022, respectively.

As for the UAE’s imports of non-oil goods, they exceeded 2.1 trillion dirhams during 2025 ($577.6 billion), a growth of 25.7% compared to 2024, and recorded an increase of 27.2% with the country’s 10 most important trading partners, and the rest of the countries by 23.3%. The most important commodities imported during 2025 were gold, telephone sets, cars, petroleum oils, jewelry and their products, diamonds, and computers. The top 10 commodities achieved a growth of 32.4%, and the rest of the commodities achieved a growth of 16%.

The last quarter of 2025 witnessed an exceptional performance of the country’s non-oil foreign trade, as its value – for the first time in its history – exceeded the trillion dirhams barrier within 3 months, specifically in the period from the first of October until the end of December 2025, and recorded 1.1 trillion dirhams, a growth of 33.1% compared to the similar period in 2024, as well as a growth of 16% compared to the third quarter of 2025.

As for non-oil exports during the last quarter of 2025, they amounted to 234.4 billion dirhams (which is equivalent to the total value of non-oil UAE exports in the entire year 2019), a growth of 53.2% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2024 and an increase of 12% compared to the third quarter of 2025.

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