In the first quarter of 2022, Abu Dhabi’s non-oil international trade was $16.74 billion (AED 61.522 billion), up 15% over the same time in 2021. Exports increased by 35% in the first three months of the year, reaching AED 24.449 billion, compared to the same time in 2021.
Non-oil trade increased by 15% to over AED61.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022, compared to the same time in 2021. The expansion strengthens the emirate’s status as a major global trading center. In 2021, mining and quarrying (which includes crude oil and natural gas) accounted for around 50.3 percent of Abu Dhabi’s real GDP.
Wood and its products, cork, mats, and baskets had a 47% increase in commerce, while leather items, animal kits, and travel necessities saw a 43% increase. The value of commerce in commodities made up of common metals and their products topped AED 12.83 billion in the first quarter of 2021, up 27% from AED 9.491 billion the previous quarter. Trade in pearls, precious stones, precious metals, and their products grew by 78%.
Imports increased by 5% year on year to AED 25.374 billion in the first quarter of 2022. In Q1 2022, re-exports increased by 4% to AED 11.698 billion, up from AED 11.237 billion in Q1 2021. Saudi Arabia contributed 23% of overall commerce with Abu Dhabi, followed by Switzerland (8%), the United States (7%), and China and India (5% each).
Rashed Lahej Al Mansoori, the director-general of Abu Dhabi’s General Administration of Customs, said that proactive services launched by the administration during the relevant period contributed to an increase in non-oil trade in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period the previous year.
He went on to say that the administration provides a suite of strategic services based on digital technology and artificial intelligence.
