The global trade organisation predicts that the volume of world merchandise trade will only grow by 1.7% this year, after a smaller-than-expected increase of 2.7% in 2022, due to factors such as the crisis in Ukraine, high inflation, tighter monetary policy, and financial market uncertainty. In contrast, the UAE’s trade in goods with the rest of the world grew to $1.024tn in 2022, with both exports and imports rising on the back of higher crude oil prices. Exports accounted for $599bn, or 2.4% of the global merchandise exports share, while imports were $425bn, or 1.7%.
The UAE ranked 11th in exports of commodities and 18th in imports of global merchandise goods. In commercial service exports, the Emirates came in 12th with $154bn, or 2.2% of the global total, with imports totalling $95bn, or 1.5%. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al-Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, attributed this success to the UAE government’s innovative policies and leadership, which strengthen the country’s economic position and competitiveness.