MUSTAFA ABDUL AZIM (DUBAI)
The volume of trade between the UAE and Japan during the first ten months of 2023 exceeded Dh140.2 billion ($38.2 billion), according to data from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), amounting to over 39% of Japan’s trade with Middle East countries.
According to the data, the UAE’s exports to Japan, including petroleum products, amounted to about Dh110.5 billion ($30.10 billion) from January to October of 2023, while imports amounted to about Dh29.7 billion ($8.09 billion), showing a trade surplus between the two countries of about Dh80.7 billion ($22.0 billion) in favour of the UAE.
According to data obtained by Aletihad, the UAE accounted for 39.1% of the total trade between Japan and Middle East countries during the first ten months of 2023, estimated at around Dh358.2 billion ($97.6 billion).
In terms of export value to Japan, the UAE ranked first among the region, with a total export value of $30.1 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with exports valued at $27.8 billion, while in terms of the total value of imports, the UAE recorded around $8.09 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia with $5.2 billion. Together, the two countries accounted for 70% of Japan’s total trade with Middle East countries.
In October 2022, the trade volume between the two countries amounted to about Dh15.05 billion ($4.1 billion), compared to Dh18.16 billion ($4.95 billion) for the same month in 2022 and Dh10.75 billion ($2.93 billion) for October 2021. During this period, the UAE’s exports to Japan reached Dh11.14 billion ($3.03 billion), while the UAE’s imports from Japan increased to Dh3.9 billion ($1.8 billion), compared to Dh2.93 billion ($799.28 million) during the same month in 2022.
The UAE is Japan’s largest trading partner from the GCC, with imports concentrated on automobiles, electronics, machinery, and textiles, while exports primarily consist of crude oil, natural gas, and various forms of aluminium, with petroleum products representing the highest percentage. The UAE is also the second-largest supplier of crude oil to Japan in terms of quantity, after Saudi Arabia.
The UAE is among Japan’s top 15 trading partners, contributing 5.1% to Japan’s total revenues, equivalent to $45 billion in 2022, following China, the US, and Australia.
More than 340 Japanese companies operate in the UAE across various sectors, including infrastructure, industry, and energy. The value of trade between the UAE and Japan increased by 58.7% in 2022, reaching Dh198.6 billion ($54.1 billion), compared to Dh125.14 billion ($34.1 billion) in 2021, according to statistics from the JETRO.
According to Ministry of Economy data, non-oil trade between the UAE and Japan amounted to $14.7 billion in 2022, marking a 10% growth compared to 2021, and a 36% increase from 2020.
Excluding 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the average non-oil trade between the two countries over the past decade amounted to around $14 billion annually, positioning the UAE as Japan’s seventh-largest global trading partner, and solidifying Japan as the UAE’s eighth-largest trading partner on a global scale.