Abu Dhabi has recorded AED124 billion ($33.76 billion) in non-oil trade during the first half of 2022, a 12% increase from the same period in 2021, as the country's economy continues to recover from the setbacks of the pandemic. 

The emirate has also posted a 26 per cent growth in exports to nearly AED49.5 billion, Abu Dhabi Media Office tweeted, citing data from the emirate's customs department.

Precious metals and gemstones trading during the period grew by 40%, audiovisual equipment by 23%, and normal metals by 22%.

Trade also grew significantly with Switzerland (260% ), USA (21%), Kuwait (13%), and China (9%), the media office tweeted.

According to the UAE Central Bank (CBUAE), the outlook for 2022 remains optimistic, but depends on global factors such as the evolution of the Ukraine conflict, the pandemic, as well as fiscal and monetary policies normalisation and supply chains disruptions.

The CBUAE projects real GDP growth to further increase to 5.4% in 2022, supported by higher economic activity and higher oil prices, with non-oil GDP rising by 4.3% while forecasts for growth for 2023 for the overall real GDP and the non-oil real GDP are of 4.2% and 3.9%, respectively.

(Writing by Seban Scaria seban.scaria@lseg.com; editing by Daniel Luiz)