Abu Dhabi, UAE – The non-oil trade between the UAE and Saudi Arabia grew by 92.5 percent over the past decade to AED124.69 billion ($34bn) by the end of 2021.
By end of 2012, the value of non oil trade between the two was AED 64.8 billion ($17.65bn), according to statistics from the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC).
The trade exchange between the two countries in the first half of 2022 totaled AED65.7 billion ($17.9bn), the statistics also showed.
The value of non-oil exports from the UAE to Saudi Arabia over the past ten years was around AED205.5 billion ($56bn), while re-exports were valued at AED471.7 billion ($128.42bn), and imports at AED227 billion ($61.8bn).
From 2012 to 2021, Saudi Arabia was the UAE’s fourth leading trading partner, with their trade exchange amounting to AED904.3 billion, or 5.6 percent of the UAE’s total international trade.
Saudi Arabia was ranked first in the list of countries that received re-exports from the UAE over the past 10 years, valued at nearly AED423 billion.
It was also ranked second in the list of countries receiving Emirati non-oil exports, with a value of AED206 billion, constituting 9.5 percent of the UAE’s total non-oil exports.
According to the FCSC’s figures, the trade exchange between the two countries in 2013 was AED79.9 billion, decreasing in 2014 to AED75.5 billion, and increasing again in 2015 to AED83.3 billion.
The non-oil trade exchange between the two countries totaled AED71.5 billion in 2016 and AED79.2 billion in 2017. In 2018, it crossed the AED100 billion mark.
In 2019, their non-oil trade exchange was valued at AED113.2 billion, and in 2020, it amounted to some AED104 billion.
In 2021, the trade exchange between the UAE and Saudi Arabia amounted to AED124.6 billion ($33.92bn), a rise of 20 percent compared to 2020, and 10 percent compared to 2019.
Re-exports represented 48 percent of the total trade between the two countries in 2021, valued at more than AED59.78 billion while exports accounted for 30 percent, with a value of more than AED37.85 billion, and merchandise imports for 22 percent valued at more than AE 26.97 billion.
In 2021, petroleum and oil obtained from bituminous minerals topped the list of Emirati imports, with a value of over AED5 billion, followed by ethylene polymers in their primary forms valued at AED3.35 billion and raw, semi-worked or powdered gold with a value of AED1.87 billion, and then by propylene polymers in their primary forms.
Gold topped the list of key commodities exported to Saudi Arabia in 2021, with a value of AED10.9 billion, followed by wires valued at AED3.11 billion.
Telephone devices, including phones for cellular networks and other wireless networks, topped the list of goods that were re-exported to Saudi Arabia in 2021, with a value of AED11.58 billion (3.16bn).