Image courtesy: WAM/ For illustrative purposes
The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reached a record Dhs1.7tn ($470.3bn) in H1 2025, a 24 per cent increase from the same period in 2024, according to a tweet from Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Sheikh Mohammed stated that this growth was double the figure achieved in the first half of 2021 and represents an “unprecedented boom” with historic growth rates of 59.5 per cent and 37.8 per cent compared to H1 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Sheikh Mohammed attributed the success to the country’s comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) programme, launched in September 2021.
Today, I reviewed the data for the first half of this year regarding the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade. It achieved significant growth of 24% compared to the first half of the previous year, while the average growth of global trade was only about 1.75%.
Our non-oil foreign trade…
— HH Sheikh Mohammed (@HHShkMohd) July 30, 2025
He noted that the country has concluded 28 such agreements, with 10 now in effect, providing unhindered customs access to markets with nearly 3 bn consumers.
For the first time in the country’s history, non-oil exports contributed 21.4 per cent to total non-oil foreign trade, up from 18.4 per cent in H1 2024.
Non-oil exports surged to Dhs369.5 bn, a growth rate of more than 44.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
Foreign trade: Key destinations for non oil exports
Switzerland was the leading destination for the UAE’s non-oil exports, followed by India, Turkey, and Hong Kong-China.
Trade with CEPA partners amounted to Dhs85.02 bn, a 62.8 per cent increase, and accounted for 23 per cent of the country’s total non-oil exports.
Re-exports also continued to grow, reaching Dhs389 bn, a 14 per cent increase from H1 2024.
Imports of non-oil goods totalled Dhs969.3 bn, a 22.5 per cent increase.
Among the country’s top trading partners, trade with India rose by 33.9 per cent, China by 15.6 per cent, Switzerland by 120 per cent, and Saudi Arabia by 21.3 per cent.
The US ranked sixth among the top 10 trading partners with a 29 per cent growth, and France entered the top 10 list for the first time.
