UAE non-oil foreign trade hits record quarterly high

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade in the first quarter of 2022 touched nearly AED 500 billion for the first time in the country's history.

It totalled AED 499.7 billion, which is a growth of 20.5 per cent compared to AED 414.6 billion recorded in the same period of 2021.

According to the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, China was the UAE's top trading partner during Q1 2022 (valued at AED 57 billion), followed by India (AED 46.2 billion) and Saudi Arabia (AED 32.5 billion).

Gold topped the list of leading commodities traded, with a value of AED 84.4 billion and accounting for 17 per cent of the country's total non-oil foreign trade.

Diamonds came next (AED 40 billion), followed by telephone and communication devices (AED 37 billion), mineral oils (AED 24.6 billion), ornaments and jewellery (AED 21 billion) and cars (AED 19.5 billion).