Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, the Minister of State for Foreign Trade, emphasized that the UAE, backed by its leadership’s vision and guidance, continues to strengthen its role as a trusted trade partner for the world’s largest economies. The nation serves as a gateway for facilitating global trade flows, with the network of trade partners expanding through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement program, which has already seen the completion of 27 agreements, 10 of which are now in effect.
In comments made upon the announcement of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade for the first quarter of 2025, he stated that the remarkable growth rates achieved by the UAE’s foreign trade confirm the ongoing success of strategic plans to double its value by 2031, surpassing the targeted growth rates. During the first three months of 2025, trade increased by 18.6%, reaching 835 billion dirhams.
With the current growth trends, it is anticipated that the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade will reach approximately 3.5 trillion dirhams by the end of 2025, moving closer to the targeted figure of 4 trillion dirhams annually by 2031, six years ahead of schedule.
Al Zeyoudi noted that the expansion of the UAE’s trade partner network through the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement program significantly contributes to the remarkable and sustained growth of non-oil foreign trade, alongside unprecedented growth in exports to partnering countries.
He highlighted that non-oil exports constituted over 21% of the total trade for the first time in history, reflecting the increasing confidence of global markets in UAE products and the benefits these exports have gained from the trade partnership expansion plans.
In the first quarter of 2025, UAE non-oil exports continued to showcase historic and unprecedented growth, amounting to 177.3 billion dirhams, which represents a 40.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024 and a 15.7% rise compared to the last quarter of 2024.
Re-exports saw a year-on-year increase of 6%, reaching 189.1 billion dirhams, while imports rose by 17.2% compared to the first quarter of 2024 but dropped by 1.7% relative to the last quarter of 2024, totaling 468.6 billion dirhams.
Furthermore, non-oil exports to the UAE’s top 10 trading partners grew by 51%, while all other countries recorded a 21.4% increase. The main destinations for UAE non-oil exports during the first quarter of 2025 were Switzerland, India, Turkey, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Thailand, with the latter experiencing a tenfold increase in value compared to the same period in 2024, followed by Oman, the United States, and Kuwait.
The top exported goods in the first quarter of 2025 included gold, jewelry, cigarettes, printed materials, aluminum, oil products, copper wire, fragrances, and ethylene polymers, collectively achieving a 58.9% growth compared to the same period in 2024, with the highest growth rates seen in ethylene polymers, printed materials, gold, and perfumes. Al Zeyoudi confirmed that UAE non-oil exports continue to reap the benefits of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements, reaching a value of 44.5 billion dirhams for exports to partners in agreements that have come into effect, reflecting a growth of 62.3% and representing 25.1% of the total export value. India received 28.3 billion dirhams of these exports, marking a 97.6% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024, followed by Turkey with 14 billion dirhams, a rise of 28.1%.
The value of re-exports reached 189.1 billion dirhams during the first quarter of 2025, demonstrating a 6% growth compared to the first quarter of 2024, with increases of 7.6% and 21.1% compared to 2023 and 2022 respectively for the same period. Re-exports to the UAE’s top 10 partners increased by 3%, while other countries experienced a 9% rise, with Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Oman, and Turkey being among the leading nations. The most re-exported items included mobile phones, diamonds, gold jewelry, and automobiles, with the largest growth recorded in the re-export of microphones, gold jewelry, gold, and cars.
Regarding the UAE’s imports of non-oil goods, Al Zeyoudi noted that they reached 468.6 billion dirhams during the first quarter of 2025, reflecting a growth of 17.2% compared to the same period in 2024. Most major markets saw an increase, particularly from countries involved in partnership agreements, with Turkey leading at 39.1%, followed by India at 15.1% and Vietnam at 8.3%.
Italy, Guinea, Switzerland, China, and Germany also reported growth, with Egypt’s imports growing nearly sevenfold within the same period.
The primary imported goods in the first quarter of 2025 included gold, mobile phones, cars, oil products, and jewelry.
In terms of key trade partners, Al Zeyoudi reported that non-oil trade with China grew by 9.6%, with India seeing an increase of 31% and Saudi Arabia more than doubling its trade volume compared to the same period in 2024, at 127%. Turkey recorded a growth of 8.3%, while the United States experienced a jump of 38%, positioning it sixth among the UAE’s top 10 trade partners, with Egypt also entering the list due to the strengthening trade relationship between the two nations during the first quarter of 2025.