UAE exports of polyethylene (all grades) are projected at 3.8 million tons yearend 2025, down 1%; polypropylene, 1.6 million tons, down 6% (based on import statistics from all available publishing countries, as the UAE does not publish timely statistics). The latest export data for UAE, for 2023 (from UN Comtrade), shows much lower exports out of UAE than is reported by trading partners as imports from UAE as the country of origin.

Over-supply from new capacity in China is impacting exports from the UAE to Asia-Pacific. UAE shipments of polyethylene to the region are projected down 4% in 2025, to 3.27 million tons. UAE exports of polypropylene to Asia-Pacific are projected down 10%, to 1.32 million tons.

Although UAE exports to other regional markets are much smaller than to Asia-Pacific, substantial growth is projected for exports to Eastern Europe, Africa, and Latin America. Key volume and growth markets include Turkey, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Brazil, and Peru.

UN data for UAE exports of polyethylene (all grades) for the most current year available (2023) showed exports, as reported by UAE, of 2.41 million tons. The countries in ITP’s database reported much higher imports from the UAE as the country of origin, 3.41 million tons (noting also that many countries which UAE reports as export destinations – Bangladesh, Myanmar, Djibouti, Kuwait, Oman, Israel, Algeria, and others – do not publish timely import statistics and so are not included in ITP’s figures).

UN data for UAE exports of polypropylene (all grades) in 2023 showed exports, as reported by UAE, of 1.4 million tons. The countries in ITP’s database reported imports from the UAE as the country of origin of 1.8 million tons (again excluding non-publishing countries).

From International Trader Publication’s World Trade Analyses and World Trade Projections for all grades of polymers of ethylene and propylene, based on statistics from all available publishing countries.