UAE nine-month non-oil foreign trade reaches AED2.945tn, up 10.1%

Verified fact — Emirates News Agency reports UAE non-oil foreign trade of AED2.945 trillion in January through September 2026, up 10.1% year on year. Non-oil exports were AED705.8 billion, up 21.6%; imports were AED1.661 trillion, up 11.5%; and re-exports were AED578 billion. Third-quarter trade reached AED1.025 trillion, while trade with 23 countries covered by 19 CEPAs in force was AED510.8 billion.

Horizon interpretation — The scale and growth of goods flows are relevant to exporters, manufacturers, logistics providers and advisers, and the third-quarter total indicates momentum rather than only a cumulative base effect. These are gross merchandise-trade aggregates. They do not identify domestic value added, company revenue or margin, services trade, product or partner concentration, tariff utilisation, origin compliance or an accessible opportunity for a specific firm.

Next check — Horizon will seek official product, partner-country and emirate breakdowns and any revision to the nine-month figures. CEPA assessment requires customs, rules-of-origin and tariff-utilisation evidence for each agreement rather than aggregate trade with covered countries. Commercial teams should map a specific product, buyer, route, duty and logistics requirement, then test shipment and margin evidence before treating macro trade growth as demand they can capture.