Special Features
Non-Oil UAE Trade Fetches AED 600 Bln In Eight Months
UAE non-oil foreign trade has shown progressive growth during the eight months of 2011 compared to the same period of the previous year. Federal Customs Authority (FCA) preliminary statistics show that UAE non-oil foreign trade has grown for the stated period by 22% compared to the same period of the previous year as Total non-oil Foreign Trade has grown from AED 492.5 during the first 8 months of 2010 to AED 600.1 bln in the same period of 2011, i.e., an increase of AED 107.6 bln.In a press release issued yesterday, FCA said that preliminary statistics for the first 8 months of 2011 show a 22% growth in imports to increase from AED 317.5 bln during the first 8 months of 2010 to AED 386 bln for the same period in 2011.
On the other hand, exports witnessed an astounding growth by 40% for the same period with an increase from AED 53.6 bln to AED 75.2 bln. Re-exports, however, experienced a growth rate of 15% to go up from AED 121.4 bln to AED 139 bln for the same period.
For FCA, in terms of value, UAE total foreign trade in August, 2011 valued YoY AED 76.2 bln compared to AED 66.5 with an increase of 14%.
August Imports, in turn, hit YoY AED 48.9 bln with an increase of 18%. Exports achieved YoY AED 10.4 bln with an increase of 15%. Yet, re-exports recorded a YoY increase of 4% to hit AED 16.8 bln.
However, weight-wise UAE total foreign trade in August, 2011 has hit 6.8 m tons, of which 4.3 m tons in imports, 1.9 m tons in exports and 641 thousand tons in re-exports.
According to the FCA press release, each of India, China, the US, Japan, Germany, South Korea, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, and France respectively, topped exporters’ list to the UAE in August, 2011 with a total value of AED 29.4 bln, or 60% of the UAE total imports.
On the level of non-oil exports, India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuwait, South Africa, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey, and Hong Kong, respectively, spearheaded importers from the UAE with AED 7.7 bln, accounting for 74% of the UAE exports.
Meanwhile, India, Iran, Belgium, Iraq, Hong Kong, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Kuwait, and Qatar topped the list in terms of re-exports with AED 12.4 bln, representing 73% of the UAE total re-exports.
The total value of UAE-GCC non-oil foreign trade hit AED 4.8 bln in August, 2011, of which AED 2.2 bln in imports, AED 1.1 bln in exports and AED 1.5 bln in re-exports. Saudi Arabia maintained its first rank among GCC region’s trading partners with a total value of AED 2 bln in August, 2011. Kuwait came second with AED 799 m, followed by Oman (AED 727 m), Bahrain (AED 679 m), and finally Qatar (AED 559 m).
Further, FCA press release read, "UAE total foreign trade with Arab countries in terms of value amounted to AED 9.5 bln in August, 2011, with AED 5 bln worth of imports, AED 1.8 bln worth of exports and AED 2.7 bln of re-exports.
Saudi Arabia topped the list of Arab states in terms of non-oil trade with the UAE, followed by Iraq, Morocco, Sudan, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Egypt, and Comoros tailed the list." The preliminary statistical data of August, 2011 showed that gold ranked first among imports with a value of AED 9.4 bln, followed by diamond with AED 4.2 bln, cars with AED 2.6 bln, ornaments and jewelry with AED 1.3 bln, and telephone sets AED 659 m.
Gold, according to FCA, also came first among exports in August, 2011 with AED 6.6 bln, followed by petroleum oils and other derivatives with AED 334 m, and ornaments and jewelry with AED 173 m.
On the level of re-exports, diamond came first with a total value of AED 5.2 bln, ornaments and jewelry and related parts with AED 934 m, cars (AED 931 m) and telephone sets (AED 784 m).
The total trade volume of UAE free zones and markets in August, 2011 amounted to AED 1.3 bln.
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