India is UAE’s major non-oil export partner in Q1 of 2022, says CBUAE

India continues to be the biggest export partner for the UAE as far as non-oil exports are concerned in the first three months of 2022, according to Central Bank of UAE (CBUAE).

The non-oil data during the first quarter in 2022 showed India as the UAE’s major export partner, followed by Saudi Arabia, and Switzerland.

Merchandise-wise, gold topped the list of leading commodities included in the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade (17%), followed by diamonds, communication devices, mineral oils, jewellery, and cars, the CBUAE said in its quarterly review report for the said period.

The report further said that the UAE’s total non-oil exports increased Y-o-Y by 17.3% to reach $23.96 billion during the three months, while re-exports increased by 20.4% to reach $35.53 billion.

Parallel to that, imports rose by 21.7% to reach $76.83 billion, in response to the needs of the growing non-hydrocarbon activities. The major partner is China, followed by India, the USA, The EU, Turkey and Japan as far as imports were concerned.

The report also pointed out that consequential to the OPEC+ decision to keep increasing production for all member countries by over 400,000 barrels per day in 2022, the UAE’s oil production is said to have increased by 13% to more than 3 million barrels per day.

Tourists’ Arrivals

The number of international guests arriving in Dubai more than tripled in a year, increasing from 1.27 million in Q1 of 2021 to 3.97 million in Q1 of 2022. Also, the average occupancy in Dubai hotels increased from 64% to 82% during the same period of last year, while average revenue by available room more than doubled (from $68.33 to $145.38).

Preliminary data for Abu Dhabi also shows a remarkable increase in room occupancy as well as average room revenue in Q1 of 2022, compared with the same period in the previous year. Yet, average spending by foreign hotel guests remained roughly flat during this period.

Being a major trade and logistics hub, the UAE transport industry would most definitely benefit from end of lockdowns and resumption of international travel. As the UAE is a trade and logistics hub, the transportation industry will most definitely benefit from the end of lockdowns and resumption of international travel. International travel is expected to increase during 2022 by 9.5%, while transportation is expected to increase by 14.1%.

NEER Appreciates

The average Nominal Effective Exchange Rate (NEER) of the Dirham, which takes into account the bilateral exchange rates of the UAE’s trading partners, appreciated Q-o-Q by 1.1% in Q1 of 2022 following an appreciation by 1.6% in the previous quarter, in line with the appreciation of the U.S. dollar.

Meanwhile, the Dirham’s Real Effective Exchange Rate (REER), which takes into account inflation differentials between the UAE and its trading partners, depreciated by 0.6% due to the fact that domestic inflation remains below the levels prevalent in UAE’s trade partners.