One of the Gulf’s main steel markets and a trading hub for the region, importing through Jebel Ali in Dubai and Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi.
Coil, plate, sections and pipe arrive through the two ports, and much of it is traded on to neighbouring markets. The UAE also makes steel: Emirates Steel Arkan’s plant in Abu Dhabi rolls rebar, wire rod and heavy sections, and other mills make rebar, pipe and coated sheet. Construction, infrastructure and the oil and gas sector drive demand. As a member of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the UAE works with the GCC Standardization Organization on common standards.
3.8 Mt in 2025 (3.7 Mt in 2024)
Source: worldsteel, 2025 global crude steel production totals (January 2026). More figures on Steel statistics.
Who sets steel standards in the UAE, which standards are used, and the conformity schemes that apply to steel.
The Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) is the UAE’s standards body. It was set up in 2020 and took over the work of the Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA). National standards are published with the prefix UAE.S.
Sources: US Trade.gov — UAE standards for trade · MoIAT — buy UAE standard specifications
UAE standards draw on international and regional standards, including those of the GCC Standardization Organization (GSO), the standards body of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
Sources: US Trade.gov — UAE standards for trade · GSO
In practice steel is also bought and tested to BS, EN and ASTM standards. Dubai Municipality, for example, certifies reinforcing steel to BS 4449.
Source: Dubai Municipality — reinforcing steel to BS 4449 (certification procedure)
Cabinet Resolution No. (121) of 2023 sets up the UAE scheme for steel bars for concrete reinforcement: quality requirements for carbon steel reinforcing bars and coiled rods and for the billets they are rolled from, applied through MoIAT’s conformity schemes.
Sources: UAE Legislation — Cabinet Resolution No. 121 of 2023 · Dubai Municipality — Cabinet Resolution No. 121 of 2023
MoIAT runs the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS), which certifies that a regulated product meets the UAE’s technical requirements, and grants the Emirates Quality Mark (EQM).
Sources: MoIAT — conformity certificates for regulated products (ECAS) · US Trade.gov — UAE standards for trade
Testing laboratories and certification bodies are accredited by the Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS), part of MoIAT. In Dubai, Dubai Municipality’s Dubai Central Laboratory tests and certifies construction materials, including reinforcing steel.
Sources: MoIAT — Emirates National Accreditation System (ENAS) · Dubai Municipality — reinforcing steel to BS 4449 (certification procedure)
The standards bodies on our steel grades & standards page: MoIAT, GSO, ADQCC.
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