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Who does the United Arab Emirates rely on?

The largest supplier of the United Arab Emirates in 2024 is China, with 20.9% of what the United Arab Emirates buys. Its share was 16% in 2019 and 4.9% in 1995. 439 of the 1,054 products the United Arab Emirates buys for more than $1 million have a supplier selling more than 50% of what the United Arab Emirates buys of that product; in 140, more than 75%. In those products, purchases from each one’s dominant supplier add up to 17.3% of what the United Arab Emirates buys.

Summary

Largest supplier: China
20.9%
Concentration (HHI)
781
Products with a supplier above 50%
439
Products with a supplier above 75%
140

Concentration index (HHI): 781 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting purchases among 13 suppliers of the same size

Trend

Trend in shares

China went from 4.9% to 20.9% of what the United Arab Emirates buys

Share (%)

  • China 20.9%
  • India 12%
  • United States 7.2%
  • Saudi Arabia 6%
  • Hong Kong 4.7%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest supplierShare
1995Japan9.2%
1996United States10.3%
1997United States9.8%
1998Japan10%
1999United States9.3%
2000Japan7.8%
2001United States7.1%
2002United States8.3%
2003China9.7%
2004China10.5%
2005India11.8%
2006United States11.1%
2007China11.3%
2008China11.2%
2009India18.3%
2010India17.3%
2011India19.3%
2012China13.6%
2013India11.2%
2014China13.3%
2015China13.6%
2016China12.6%
2017China17.8%
2018China15.1%
2019China16%
2020China18.1%
2021China19.3%
2022China19.8%
2023China19.9%
2024China20.9%

Its suppliers

  1. China$64.7 billion · 20.9%
  2. India$37.1 billion · 12%
  3. United States$22.2 billion · 7.2%
  4. Saudi Arabia$18.7 billion · 6%
  5. Hong Kong$14.5 billion · 4.7%
  6. United Kingdom$12.2 billion · 4%
  7. Switzerland$11.3 billion · 3.6%
  8. Germany$10.3 billion · 3.3%
  9. Japan$8.4 billion · 2.7%
  10. Turkey$8.2 billion · 2.7%

Some of these goods may have been produced in another country: countries record origin in different ways.

Products with a dominant supplier

Of the 1,054 products the United Arab Emirates buys for more than $1 million in 2024, these are the highest-value ones with a dominant supplier.

ProductSupplierShareSecondValue
Refined petroleumIndia63.9%Turkey · 6.3%$10.7 billion
Airplanes and helicoptersIndia50.5%France · 12.2%$3.2 billion
Hot-rolled flat steelChina71%Japan · 11.3%$2.4 billion
Warships and other vesselsSaudi Arabia91.1%over 75%India · 8.4%$2.2 billion
Coal tar oilsIndia91.1%over 75%South Korea · 3.5%$1.9 billion
New tiresChina51%Japan · 10.9%$1.7 billion
Air conditionersChina62%Thailand · 14.6%$1.6 billion
Synthetic filament fabricChina65.1%India · 8.9%$1.4 billion
Aluminum oxide and hydroxideAustralia77.7%over 75%India · 9.4%$1.4 billion
TugboatsSaudi Arabia66.6%Qatar · 15.1%$1.4 billion
Cane and beet sugarBrazil89.7%over 75%India · 4.2%$1.3 billion
Poultry meatBrazil76.6%over 75%United States · 6.7%$1.2 billion
Other wristwatchesSwitzerland65.6%Hong Kong · 9.5%$1.2 billion
Lamps and light fittingsChina71.6%Italy · 5.4%$1.1 billion
Printing and writing inksIndia92%over 75%Germany · 3.1%$1.1 billion
Video recorders and playersChina53.3%Hong Kong · 7.4%$1.1 billion
PolyethyleneSaudi Arabia67.2%United States · 6.1%$925 million
Precious metal watchesSwitzerland68.4%Hong Kong · 8%$918 million
Video game consoles and gamesChina67.3%United Kingdom · 8.4%$915 million
Polyethers, polyesters and epoxy resinsChina56.3%India · 11%$890 million
Electric heaters and hair dryersChina57.3%Germany · 6.8%$883 million
Frozen beefBrazil61.6%India · 26.9%$850 million
Other nuts (almonds, walnuts)United States67.6%China · 21.5%$819 million
Rubber and plastic footwearChina83%over 75%India · 3.5%$775 million
Phones and telecom equipmentChina57.6%Hong Kong · 11.1%$746 million

and 414 more

A product has a dominant supplier when a single country sells more than 50% of what is bought of it; we flag it separately above 75%.

Countries that sell more than 50% of some product; the darker, the higher the value of those products.

Selling: who it relies on

Largest customer: India
17.9%
Concentration (HHI)
783

Concentration index (HHI): 783 out of 10,000; equivalent to splitting sales among 13 customers of the same size

Trend in shares

Japan went from 52.7% to 11.8% of what the United Arab Emirates sells

Share (%)

  • India 17.9%
  • Japan 11.8%
  • China 11.7%
  • Hong Kong 6.4%
  • South Korea 5.8%

Source: CEPII BACI

Show the numbers
YearLargest customerShare
1995Japan52.7%
1996Japan50%
1997Japan46.5%
1998Japan39.1%
1999Japan36.6%
2000Japan41.4%
2001Japan36.9%
2002Japan34.5%
2003Japan31.4%
2004Japan29.4%
2005Japan25.4%
2006Japan31.4%
2007Japan22.6%
2008Japan26.5%
2009Japan21.8%
2010India19%
2011Japan19.5%
2012Japan15.5%
2013Japan15.6%
2014Japan16%
2015Japan12.3%
2016India10.7%
2017India10.5%
2018Japan10.9%
2019India11.9%
2020India11.3%
2021India14.7%
2022India12.7%
2023China10.6%
2024India17.9%

291 of the 757 products the United Arab Emirates sells for more than $1 million have a customer buying more than 50% of what the United Arab Emirates sells of that product; in 136, more than 75%. In those products, sales to each one’s dominant customer add up to 10.8% of what the United Arab Emirates sells.

ProductCustomerShareSecondValue
Natural gas and LPGIndia51.4%China · 33.2%$14.6 billion
DiamondsIndia70.7%Hong Kong · 17.9%$7.8 billion
PolyethyleneChina55%India · 14.4%$4 billion
SilverIndia93.2%over 75%Turkey · 2.7%$2.1 billion
Airplanes and helicoptersIndia95.8%over 75%Uzbekistan · 1.9%$2.1 billion
PlatinumIndia98.7%over 75%Hong Kong · 0.61%$1.8 billion
SulfurMorocco50.4%China · 18.3%$1.1 billion
Parts for cranes and excavatorsSaudi Arabia76.9%over 75%Qatar · 8.8%$1.1 billion
AlcoholsChina96.3%over 75%Israel · 2.2%$955 million
Copper scrapChina53.4%South Korea · 14.7%$657 million
Limestone for lime and cementIndia91.1%over 75%Kuwait · 3.8%$612 million
Rapeseed and mustard oilChina60.8%Malaysia · 11.5%$523 million
Refined copperChina97.7%over 75%Malaysia · 1%$485 million
Aluminum scrapIndia64%South Korea · 10.6%$461 million
Ferrous scrapPakistan80.6%over 75%India · 8.7%$426 million

and 276 more

Concentration compared

The closest countries in the concentration ranking (HHI, highest first).

RankCountryHHI
168Latvia784
169Poland784
170United Arab Emirates781
171Montenegro768
172Mauritania766
173Mauritius748

Sources and method

Sources and licenses

Methodology

The data come from CEPII BACI (Etalab 2.0 licence), which reconciles what the exporting and the importing country report, in current USD, FOB. Data up to 2024.

Dependence is the share of a country’s imports (or exports) that each partner accounts for. It does not measure whether a product has a substitute or how much it would cost to change supplier.

The concentration index (HHI) adds up the square of each partner’s share, in percent: it runs from 0 to 10,000. Its equivalent is 10,000 ÷ HHI, the number of partners of the same size that would give that value.

Products are HS4 headings of the 1992 nomenclature (some combine different goods), with a floor of $1 million per product and country.

The EU is the 27 current members in every year; the United Kingdom is outside the EU throughout the series.

Re-exports: countries that act as redistribution hubs carry their notice and the figures are not corrected.