United Arab Emirates' Top Imports & Exports 2008
Major UAE Exports Include Crude Oil and Aluminum
Oct 12, 2009
Attaining a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) valued at US$260.1 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the world’s 36th richest country in 2008.
With a population of 4.8 million UAE citizens who enjoyed an average GDP of $40,000 per person last year, UAE was also the 11th wealthiest nation in terms of GDP per capita.
As the world’s 20th biggest exporter, UAE shipped $210.5 billion worth of exports in 2008. Crude oil generates about 45% of those exports, while other UAE shipments include natural gas, dried fish and dates. Based on 2008 statistics, UAE’s largest export clients were Japan (25.5%), South Korea (8.6%), Thailand (5.8%) and India (4.8%).
According to the CIA World Factbook, UAE imported $145.8 billion worth of foreign goods last year. Major commodities imported into UAE include machinery and transport equipment, chemicals and food. Leading suppliers to UAE were China (13.5%), India (9.8%), the United States (9.2%), Germany (6.8%), Japan (6.4%), Turkey (4.7%) and Italy (4.5%).
In total, UAE’s international trade amounted to $356.3 billion or 137% in relation to its overall GDP. This compares with roughly 25% for the U.S. and 60% for Canada.
UAE Trade with the U.S.
Last year, UAE exports to America fell 3.8% to $1.3 billion. Over that same period, UAE bought $14.4 billion worth of U.S. imports – an increase of 33.7%.
Because America is not a leading customer for UAE crude oil, UAE’s trade deficit with the U.S. was $13.1 billion in 2008.
The lists below present the top 10 exports and imports that American and UAE enterprises exchanged in 2008. The fastest-growing trade product categories are also shown.
UAE’s Top Exports to America
The top 10 UAE exports shipped to the U.S. in 2008 generated 59.5% of the total shipment value from UAE to America.
- Aluminum … US$241.5 million, down 23.9% from 2007 (18.8% of US imports from UAE)
- Crude oil … $161.6 million, down 30.5% (12.6%)
- Gem diamonds … $142.5 million, up 35.7% (11.1%)
- Advanced iron and steel manufactured products … $65.6 million, up 46.5% (5.1%)
- Cotton apparel and household goods … $54.6 million, down 45.1% (4.2%)
- Synthetic cloth, fabrics and thread … $36.8 million, up 19.2% (2.9%)
- Fuel oil … $34.8 million, up 547.4% (2.7%)
- Non-advanced iron and steel manufactured products … $24.1 million, up 817.2% (1.9%)
- Abrasives, boxes, belting and glass … $20.5 million, up 35.3% (1.6%)
- Other textile apparel and household goods … $19.7 million, down 22.2% (1.5%).
Fastest-Growing UAE Exports to the U.S.
Seven of the 10 fastest-growing UAE exports to America had triple-digit increases plus 3 product categories with double-digit gains of at least 46.7%.
- Non-advanced iron and steel products … US$24.1 million, up 817.2% from 2007
- Gem stones other than diamonds … $17.5 million, up 578.3%
- Fuel oil … $34.8 million, up 547.4%
- Feedstuff and foodgrains … $7.8 million, up 442%
- Vegetables and preparations … $6.3 million, up 210.9%
- Blank audio and visual discs, tapes … $2.9 million, up 185.6%
- Other industrial machinery … $5.6 million, up 150%
- Collectibles (antiques, art and stamps) … $6.2 million, up 88.6%
- Other vehicle parts and accessories … $9 million, up 57.3%
- Soft beverages and processed coffee … $2.8 million, up 46.7%.
UAE’s Top Imports from America
America’s top 10 exports to UAE accounted for 58.1% of total UAE imports from the U.S.
- Civilian aircraft … US$2.6 billion, up 8.4% from 2007 (17.9% of US exports to UAE)
- Passenger cars … $2.2 billion, up 66.5% (15.6%)
- Oilfield and drilling equipment … $795 million, up 29% (5.5%)
- Non-monetary gold … $554.5 million, up 28.5% (3.8%)
- Excavating machinery … $436.7 million, up 106.1% (3%)
- Other industrial machines … $430.4 million, up 22.5% (3%)
- Gem diamonds … $380.5 million, up 67.4% (2.6%)
- Industrial engines … $329.7 million, up 25.8% (2.3%)
- Jewelry … $325.5 million, up 166.1% (2.3%)
- Telecommunications equipment … $306.8 million, down 28.9% (2.1%).
Fastest-Growing UAE Imports from the U.S.
American shipments of fuel oil to UAE spiked by an amazing 114,585% in 2008, followed by 9 other product categories with triple-digit increases of at least 176.5%.
- Fuel oil … US$14.9 million, up 114,585%
- Aircraft launching gear including parachutes … $8.7 million, up 519.7%
- Non-farm tractors and parts … $72.5 million, up 511.1%
- Manufactured wood supplies… $10.4 million, up 354.8%
- Copper … $3.1 million, up 239.5%
- Artillery, guns, missiles and tanks… $53 million, up 209.5%
- Agricultural machinery and equipment … $100.6 million, up 203.3%
- Primary synthetic rubber … $11.8 million, up 184.6%
- Railway transportation equipment … $9.7 million, up 184%
- Vegetables … $27.1 million, up 176.5%.
Comparative Trade Advantages
During 2008, UAE exported $161.6 million worth of crude oil to the U.S. while importing no unprocessed petroleum from America.
These UAE-American trade statistics show that UAE has comparative advantages over the U.S. in the crude oil trade between the 2 nations.
On the other hand, America exported $2.2 billion worth of passenger automobiles to UAE in 2008 contrasted with zero imports of UAE-made passenger cars into the U.S.
That the U.S. has a $2.2 billion surplus in the export of passenger cars clearly shows that America has a comparative advantage in producing passenger automobiles over the UAE.
Sources
This analysis is based on latest statistics from the US Census Bureau- Foreign Trade Statistics and CIA World Factbook as of the date of article publication.
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