Commodity Origins

What does United Arab Emirates produce and export?

United Arab Emirates ranks in the top ten producers of 3 commodities: aluminum (#5, 3.6% of world output in 2025), crude oil (#8, 4.2% of world output in 2025), dates (#10, 3.4% of world output in 2024). It is a top-ten exporter of aluminum (#2, 9.3% of world export value in 2024), gold (#2, 9.9% of world export value in 2024), platinum (#3, 7.4% of world export value in 2024), crude oil (#4, 8.6% of world export value in 2024), dates (#4, 10% of world export value in 2024) and more.

Where united arab emirates is produced, 2025World map shaded by share of united arab emirates production in 2025. Darkest: United Arab Emirates 100%. 1 producing countries shown.Fiji: no reported productionTanzania: no reported productionWestern Sahara: no reported productionCanada: no reported productionUnited States: no reported productionKazakhstan: no reported productionUzbekistan: no reported productionPapua New Guinea: no reported productionIndonesia: no reported productionArgentina: no reported productionChile: no reported productionDR Congo: no reported productionSomalia: no reported productionKenya: no reported productionSudan: no reported productionChad: no reported productionHaiti: no reported productionDominican Republic: no reported productionRussia: no reported productionBahamas: no reported productionFalkland Isds (Malvinas): no reported productionNorway: no reported productionGreenland: no reported productionFr. South Antarctic Terr.: no reported productionTimor-Leste: no reported productionSouth Africa: no reported productionLesotho: no reported productionMexico: no reported productionUruguay: no reported productionBrazil: no reported productionBolivia: no reported productionPeru: no reported productionColombia: no reported productionPanama: no reported productionCosta Rica: no reported productionNicaragua: no reported productionHonduras: no reported productionEl Salvador: no reported productionGuatemala: no reported productionBelize: no reported productionVenezuela: no reported productionGuyana: no reported productionSuriname: no reported productionFrance: no reported productionEcuador: no reported productionPuerto Rico: no reported productionJamaica: no reported productionCuba: no reported productionZimbabwe: no reported productionBotswana: no reported productionNamibia: no reported productionSenegal: no reported productionMali: no reported productionMauritania: no reported productionBenin: no reported productionNiger: no reported productionNigeria: no reported productionCameroon: no reported productionTogo: no reported productionGhana: no reported productionIvory Coast: no reported productionGuinea: no reported productionGuinea-Bissau: no reported productionLiberia: no reported productionSierra Leone: no reported productionBurkina Faso: no reported productionCentral African Republic: no reported productionRepublic of the Congo: no reported productionGabon: no reported productionEquatorial Guinea: no reported productionZambia: no reported productionMalawi: no reported productionMozambique: no reported productionEswatini: no reported productionAngola: no reported productionBurundi: no reported productionIsrael: no reported productionLebanon: no reported productionMadagascar: no reported productionPalestine: no reported productionGambia: no reported productionTunisia: no reported productionAlgeria: no reported productionJordan: no reported productionUnited Arab Emirates: 100% (1)Qatar: no reported productionKuwait: no reported productionIraq: no reported productionOman: no reported productionVanuatu: no reported productionCambodia: no reported productionThailand: no reported productionLaos: no reported productionMyanmar: no reported productionVietnam: no reported productionNorth Korea: no reported productionSouth Korea: no reported productionMongolia: no reported productionIndia: no reported productionBangladesh: no reported productionBhutan: no reported productionNepal: no reported productionPakistan: no reported productionAfghanistan: no reported productionTajikistan: no reported productionKyrgyzstan: no reported productionTurkmenistan: no reported productionIran: no reported productionSyria: no reported productionArmenia: no reported productionSweden: no reported productionBelarus: no reported productionUkraine: no reported productionPoland: no reported productionAustria: no reported productionHungary: no reported productionMoldova: no reported productionRomania: no reported productionLithuania: no reported productionLatvia: no reported productionEstonia: no reported productionGermany: no reported productionBulgaria: no reported productionGreece: no reported productionTurkey: no reported productionAlbania: no reported productionCroatia: no reported productionSwitzerland: no reported productionLuxembourg: no reported productionBelgium: no reported productionNetherlands: no reported productionPortugal: no reported productionSpain: no reported productionIreland: no reported productionNew Caledonia: no reported productionSolomon Islands: no reported productionNew Zealand: no reported productionAustralia: no reported productionSri Lanka: no reported productionChina: no reported productionTaiwan: no reported productionItaly: no reported productionDenmark: no reported productionUnited Kingdom: no reported productionIceland: no reported productionAzerbaijan: no reported productionGeorgia: no reported productionPhilippines: no reported productionMalaysia: no reported productionBrunei: no reported productionSlovenia: no reported productionFinland: no reported productionSlovakia: no reported productionCzechia: no reported productionEritrea: no reported productionJapan: no reported productionParaguay: no reported productionYemen: no reported productionSaudi Arabia: no reported productionAntarcticaN. CyprusCyprus: no reported productionMorocco: no reported productionEgypt: no reported productionLibya: no reported productionEthiopia: no reported productionDjibouti: no reported productionSomalilandUganda: no reported productionRwanda: no reported productionBosnia and Herzegovina: no reported productionNorth Macedonia: no reported productionSerbia: no reported productionMontenegro: no reported productionKosovoTrinidad and Tobago: no reported productionSouth Sudan: no reported production<0.5%0.5–1%1–2.5%2.5–5%5–10%10–20%≥20%
Share of world production, 2025. Countries with no reported production are unshaded.

Abu Dhabi holds nearly all of the country's hydrocarbons. Its onshore fields yield Murban, a light, low-sulfur grade that is easy to refine and, unusually for the Gulf, is sold on a futures contract launched in 2021 rather than by monthly official price formula. The United Arab Emirates produced 4.2% of the world's crude oil in 2025 (Energy Institute) and held 8.6% of world crude export value in 2024 (CEPII BACI). A pipeline across the peninsula to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman lets a large part of that oil load outside the Strait of Hormuz, which is a strategic rather than a commercial choice. Gas is produced with the oil, much of it sour and expensive to treat, and the country held 3.1% of world natural gas export value in 2024 (CEPII BACI) while also importing gas by pipeline from Qatar for domestic power.

Smelting was a deliberate use of that gas. Aluminum plants at Jebel Ali and Al Taweelah run on gas-fired electricity and on alumina refined locally from imported bauxite, so the metal is a manufactured export rather than a mined one. The Emirates produced 3.6% of the world's primary aluminum in 2025 (USGS) and held 9.3% of world aluminum export value in 2024 (CEPII BACI), a much larger share of the trade than of output because almost none of the metal is used at home.

Dubai's business is the movement of goods it does not make. There are no gold mines of consequence, yet the Emirates took 5.5% of world gold import value in 2024 (CEPII BACI) and shipped out 9.9% of world gold export value in the same year (CEPII BACI), the difference passing through refineries, the bullion market and a jewelry trade serving South Asia and Africa; the same free-zone infrastructure moves silver and platinum. Food works identically: a refinery at Jebel Ali buys raw cane sugar and sells white, and the country took 3.0% of world sugar import value in 2024 (CEPII BACI), a large figure for a population its size because much of it is destined for neighboring markets.

What does United Arab Emirates produce?

Commodities where United Arab Emirates is a top-ten producer
CommodityWorld rankShare of worldProductionYearSource
Aluminum Metals53.6%2.7 million t2025USGS MCS
Crude oil Energy84.2%4,207 thousand barrels daily2025Energy Institute
Dates Fruit & vegetables103.4%333,632 t2024FAOSTAT

What does United Arab Emirates export?

Top 10 United Arab Emirates commodity exports, 2024Bar chart of top 10 United Arab Emirates commodity exports in 2024: Crude oil 8.6%, Gold 9.9%, Natural gas 3.1%, Aluminum 9.3%, Silver 6.3%, Platinum 7.4%, Urea 3.9%, Dates 10%, Tea 3.1%, Lentils 1.8%; rest of world 37%.Crude oilCrude oil: 8.6%, $114.4 billion8.6%GoldGold: 9.9%, $57.9 billion9.9%Natural gasNatural gas: 3.1%, $14.6 billion3.1%AluminumAluminum: 9.3%, $7.4 billion9.3%SilverSilver: 6.3%, $2.1 billion6.3%PlatinumPlatinum: 7.4%, $1.1 billion7.4%UreaUrea: 3.9%, $790.1 million3.9%DatesDates: 10%, $249 million10%TeaTea: 3.1%, $233.9 million3.1%LentilsLentils: 1.8%, $76.1 million1.8%Rest of worldRest of world: 37%, $037%
United Arab Emirates's largest commodity exports by value. Each bar's share is that commodity's share of world trade in it, not its share of United Arab Emirates's own exports — the two are unrelated and shown so a bar near 100% marks a commodity United Arab Emirates dominates globally rather than one it merely exports a lot of.
Top 10 United Arab Emirates commodity exports in 2024
RankCommodityExport value (US$)Share of world
1Crude oil$114.4 billion8.6%
2Gold$57.9 billion9.9%
3Natural gas$14.6 billion3.1%
4Aluminum$7.4 billion9.3%
5Silver$2.1 billion6.3%
6Platinum$1.1 billion7.4%
7Urea$790.1 million3.9%
8Dates$249 million10%
9Tea$233.9 million3.1%
10Lentils$76.1 million1.8%
Rest of world$037%

United Arab Emirates's own tracked-export mix

Unlike the chart above, this treemap sizes each commodity by its share of United Arab Emirates's own $199.9 billion of tracked exports, not by world trade. Crude oil alone is 57% of it. See the full export dependency report for how United Arab Emirates compares with other countries.

United Arab Emirates's tracked export mix by commodityCrude oil: 57.3%; Gold: 29.0%; Natural gas: 7.3%; Aluminum: 3.7%; Other tracked commodities: 1.7%; Silver: 1.1%.Crude oil: 57.3%Crude oil57.3%Gold: 29.0%Gold29.0%Natural gas: 7.3%Natural gas7.3%Aluminum: 3.7%Aluminum3.7%Other tracked commodities: 1.7%Other tracked co…1.7%Silver: 1.1%Silver1.1%
Commodities where United Arab Emirates is a top-ten exporter
CommodityWorld rankShare of world exportsExport valueYear
Aluminum29.3%$7.4 billion2024
Gold29.9%$57.9 billion2024
Platinum37.4%$1.1 billion2024
Crude oil48.6%$114.4 billion2024
Dates410%$249 million2024
Silver46.3%$2.1 billion2024
Tea73.1%$233.9 million2024
Lentils81.8%$76.1 million2024
Natural gas83.1%$14.6 billion2024
Urea83.9%$790.1 million2024
Chickpeas101.8%$44.7 million2024
Cloves100.5%$3.4 million2024

Top-ten importer of

Sources: FAOSTAT (crops and livestock), USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries (minerals), Energy Institute Statistical Review (energy) for production; CEPII BACI for trade. Ranks count only the commodities on this site.

United Arab Emirates commodity by commodity

One page for each commodity where United Arab Emirates is a top-five producer or exporter with at least 3% of the world total.

United Arab Emirates in the pattern reports

What the cross-commodity reports under Patterns say about United Arab Emirates, computed from the same data as this page.

What United Arab Emirates uses

United Arab Emirates had about 11 million people and a food supply of 3,125 kilocalories per person a day in FAO's 2023 food balance sheets. Its eight largest supplies among the commodities tracked there:

Largest domestic supplies of tracked commodities in United Arab Emirates, 2023
CommodityDomestic supplyShare of worldkg per personSelf-sufficiencyImported
Wheat2.4 million tonnes0.3%114 (#36 of 143)<0.1%131%
Milk2.0 million tonnes0.2%111 (#72 of 142)20%237%
Canola1.1 million tonnes1.2%0.4 (#25 of 136)<0.1%100%
Rice1.1 million tonnes0.1%43 (#53 of 141)<0.1%108%
Potatoes683 thousand tonnes0.2%34 (#70 of 143)0.2%113%
Chicken587 thousand tonnes0.4%46 (#12 of 143)11%115%
Corn545 thousand tonnes<0.1%0.9 (#126 of 140)3.5%109%
Sugar487 thousand tonnes0.3%24 (#78 of 143)<0.1%298%

FAO reports a negative domestic supply for United Arab Emirates's cocoa (−17 thousand tonnes; production 0 tonnes, imports 74 thousand tonnes, exports 118 thousand tonnes); coffee (−20 thousand tonnes; production 0 tonnes, imports 355 thousand tonnes, exports 374 thousand tonnes), meaning exports exceed production plus imports in the year. These are not counted as use and are left out of the table above.

FAOSTAT Food Balance Sheets. Per-person rank counts countries of at least 1 million people. See consumption and self-sufficiency.

Who supplies United Arab Emirates

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Data updated 22 October 2026.

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