Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade volumes surged 31 percent in the first half (H1) of 2019, data released by Dubai Customs showed.
The total volume of the emirate’s foreign trade reached 56 million tonnes; a record jump from 43 million tonnes registered in H1 2018.
Dubai recorded a non-oil foreign trade of $184 billion in H1 2019, an increase of 5 percent from $175.2 billion in the corresponding half last year.
The astounding 87-percent growth from 2009, reflects the ability of UAE’s trade sector to raise its strength and competitiveness despite a challenging global trade environment.
Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum noted that the strong performance of Dubai’s foreign trade reflects the robust fundamentals of the country’s economy and ability to generate fresh growth opportunities even in an adverse global environment.
Dubai’s ability to maintain high levels of trade growth is a tribute to the vision and planning of its leaders who sought to drive economic diversification at an early stage and create a hard and soft infrastructure that empowers growth, he indicated.
“The diversified profile of Dubai’s foreign trade reflects not only its strengths in traditional sectors but also its emergence as a hub and major market for technological innovation. The latest results also point to Dubai’s rapidly growing trading links with the world’s fastest growing economies,” the Crown Prince was quoted by WAM.
Exports rose by 46 percent to 10 million tonnes, re-exports were up 39 percent to 9 million tonnes and imports increased 26 percent to reach 38 million tonnes.
UAE’s foreign trade out of free zones was the biggest contributor to the increase in total trade in H1 2019 accounting for $78.1 billion. Direct trade continued to be the largest contributor to total trade at $105 billion. Customs warehouses trade accounted for $1 billion.
All transfer modes witnessed increases in value in H1 2019. Air and sea trade accounted for 83 percentof total trade. Trade by land saw the highest increase at $31 billion, while air accounted for $84.6 billion, and sea trade recorded $68.5 billion.
CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) Sultan bin Sulayem noted that these are challenging times with the global trade war and regional geopolitical tensions causing uncertainty and despite this backdrop, however, Dubai has delivered non-oil trade growth of 5 percent in the H1 2019.
“With the continued upward trend of the foreign trade sector, we have reasons to be positive about the future of our national economy.”
He added that the strong growth delivered by non-oil foreign trade is a healthy sign of how resilient and appealing the Dubai economy is, which further reinforces Dubai’s profile as a key regional and international trading hub.
China remained the largest trading partner with a 4 percent growth of $31 billion, followed by India with 20 percent growth of $18.2 billion.
US came in third with $10.6 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia which maintained its position as Dubai’s largest Arab and GCC trade partner with $7.5 billion. Switzerland came fifth at $7.2 billion worth of trade
