The trade volume in the telecommunications sector of the UAE has exceeded 38.3 billion dirhams over the past four years, spanning from the end of 2020 to the end of the previous year, highlighting the robust activity in this sector and its growing contribution to the non-oil GDP of the nation during this period.
According to recent data from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center, imports within the telecommunications sector accounted for 53% of the total trade recorded since the end of the pandemic, reaching a cumulative total of 20.4 billion dirhams. Meanwhile, exports to international markets represented 47% of the total trade during this timeframe, amounting to 17.9 billion dirhams.
The data indicates that the past year recorded the highest value of trade in the sector during this period, totaling approximately 10.3 billion dirhams, marking an increase of 16% and a difference of 1.4 billion dirhams compared to the sector’s total trade of 8.9 billion dirhams in 2020.
Imports in the sector saw growth of 8.3% last year, reaching a total of 5.2 billion dirhams compared to around 4.8 billion dirhams in 2020. On the other hand, export activities experienced a significant growth of 24%, reaching 5.1 billion dirhams last year compared to 4.1 billion dirhams in 2020.
Year-over-year, trade increased by 4% last year, representing an additional 400 million dirhams compared to a total of 9.9 billion dirhams in 2023. The import volume saw a 2% annual increase from the total of 5.1 billion dirhams in 2023, while exports rose by 6% compared to a total of 4.8 billion dirhams in the same year.
A chronological overview of UAE’s telecommunications trade indicates that 2021 achieved a year-on-year growth of 4.5% in total trade compared to 2020, with the trade value reaching 9.2 billion dirhams, while the sector’s trade volume in 2022 was approximately 9 billion dirhams.