UAE to India Exports More than Double in November
Due to the surge in demand for gold and energy items, UAE exports to India more than doubled annually to reach over $6 billion in November. In the same month, India’s imports increased by more than 11% to $3 billion as per the data supplied by the country’s commerce ministry.
Of all India’s economic partners, Emirati exports to India expanded at the fastest rate with just over 60% between April and November 2024 when compared to the same period the previous year. The free trade agreement between the UAE and India went into effect in May 2022 by reducing four-fifths of the tariffs on goods from both nations with the goal of doing away with all tariffs in ten years.
Trade between the two nations has increased since the free trade agreement was introduced in 2024 along with the UAE crude shipments to India increased by 54%.
Aparna Pande, who is the director of the Initiative on the Future of India and South Asia at the US based Hudson Institute told AGBI, “The UAE is an important strategic partner with whom India has alignment and that keeps India’s interests in mind both regionally and globally. So India has an incentive to ensure that the commercial aspect of the relationship deepens.” However “the only constraint will, as always, be India’s natural protectionist impulses and a highly regulatory state,” he added.
With $14.8 billion worth of gold imports including some from the United Arab Emirates lead to India having a sharp increase in gold imports in November.
Prithviraj Kothari, who is the president of the India Bullion and Jewellers Association, said to Reuters that imports “shot up thanks to strong demand for investment and jewellery”. He also added that it was now “cooling off and imports are slowing down. We might see a drop of over 50 percent in December.” However, Pande went on to say that although Indian demand for Emirati gold would decline from its seasonal peak but it will still be robust, “When the economy isn’t doing well, people buy gold, as they see it as a greater surety than currency. So yes, once the wedding season concludes there will be a drop but Indians love gold so by and large the demand will remain,” he stated.
A significant portion of UAE exports to India are also made up of metals like copper and aluminum, polymers and diamonds. In addition to machinery, precious metals and diamonds, the UAE imports a lot of refined fuel products from India.
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