AMMAN – The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) reported a 4.5 per cent increase in Arab trade in goods and services in 2024, reaching $3.6 trillion.

 

The growth was driven by a 1.7 per cent rise in exports to $1.9 trillion and a 7.8 per cent increase in imports to over $1.7 trillion.

 

Dhaman mentioned in its second quarterly of "Investment Guarantee" bulletin for 2025, that Arab trade in goods grew by more than 5 per cent to $2.8 trillion, with commodity exports reaching $1.5 trillion.

 

Imports rose 11 per cent, exceeding $1.3 trillion, resulting in a merchandise trade surplus of $167 billion, down 43 per cent from the previous year, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

 

The report noted that Arab merchandise trade accounted for 5.6 per cent of global trade and roughly 13.1 per cent of trade in developing countries.

 

Raw materials represented 73 per cent of Arab exports, with fuel alone comprising 54 per cent, while manufactured goods made up 64 per cent of imports.

 

Trade remained geographically concentrated, with three Gulf countries, Egypt and Iraq accounting for 76 per cent of total Arab trade.

 

The United Arab Emirates represented over 40 per cent of this total. China continued as the largest trading partner, with a 16 per cent share of Arab commodity trade.

 

Intra-Arab trade increased by 16.6 per cent to over $250 billion, representing 9 per cent of total Arab trade and concentrated primarily in the Gulf States, Egypt and Iraq.

 

Dhaman highlighted improvements in trade openness, export diversification and commercial fleet capacity, alongside declines in export capacity, connectivity to maritime networks, and rising import dependence.

 

The report reaffirmed its support for boosting Arab commodity exports and imports of strategic and capital goods, providing trade insurance services valued at $27 billion by the end of 2024.