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What the UAE imports most

OEC trade data for 2024 (BACI, HS 2017) shows where the UAE is a large buyer on the world market. Hot rolled coils came to about USD 2.4 billion, 3.6 percent of world imports and the eighth largest importer. Steel pipes and tubes came to about USD 1.8 billion (3.4 percent, fourth). Alumina came to about USD 1.4 billion (6.5 percent, third), and sugar to about USD 1.3 billion (3.0 percent, sixth). Frozen meat reached about USD 2.6 billion, and rice about USD 678 million.

Food and agriculture

Beside sugar and rice, the UAE imported rapeseed worth about USD 501 million (3.7 percent of world imports, seventh), wheat about USD 208 million, corn about USD 147 million and soybean meal about USD 160 million. These are small shares of world trade. A buyer of wheat or corn in the UAE is a niche buyer, not one of the big importers like those in Egypt or Indonesia.

Metals, ores and coal

After steel, the UAE bought iron ore worth about USD 566 million (0.3 percent of world imports), refined copper cathodes about USD 244 million, structural steel about USD 223 million and cold rolled coils about USD 283 million. Coal was about USD 279 million, 0.2 percent of world imports and far below China, India or Japan, which buy most of the traded coal. Steel billets were about USD 50 million.

Fertilizer, sulphur and cement

The UAE is a small importer of the goods in many searches for buyers there. Urea imports were about USD 12 million, DAP and NPK about USD 15 million each, sulphur about USD 23 million and bulk cement about USD 7 million. The data does not say why, but it shows that local demand for these goods is small. A search for "urea buyers in the UAE" is more likely to find traders than consumers.

Why the numbers are not the whole story

The table counts goods that enter the UAE under customs. The Emirates, Dubai above all, are often described as trading hubs, and companies registered there can buy and sell cargo that never enters the country, or that is shipped on to buyers elsewhere. These deals do not show in import figures. So a UAE company can be a real buyer of urea or coal even when the UAE imports little of it. The company may be buying for a customer in Africa, South Asia or the Middle East.

How to find buyers in the UAE

Start with the goods in the first section, where the UAE has real demand, and look for steel mills, pipe makers, aluminium smelters, food importers and refiners. For other goods, look for trading companies and ask for the final destination of the cargo. Ask a new buyer for company registration and a trade licence, a bank reference and a clear description of the product and port. Read how to find commodity suppliers for the same checks from the seller side, and export and import documents for what the paperwork must say.

Terms and shipping

A buyer in the UAE usually asks for CFR or CIF with a named UAE port, while the seller offers FOB at the loading port. Read FOB vs CFR vs CIF to see who pays freight and insurance. Cargoes reach the UAE by sea, and the ship must fit the discharge port and the draft. Check port, berth and storage with the buyer before you agree a price.

On Comdity

Browse the commodity pages, open the product you sell, and post a sell offer, or post a buy request if you are a buyer. Each posting names the origin, the port and the delivery term. Companies from the UAE and any other country can sign up and negotiate directly.

Source and notes

Source: OEC (Observatory of Economic Complexity), BACI/CEPII data, year 2024, imports by product, HS 2017. Share and rank are among all importing countries in that product. Figures are rounded and are not a forecast. Some products use a wider customs code that includes related goods.

Related guides

Find commodity suppliers · FOB vs CFR vs CIF · Export and import documents · All guides