ABU DHABI - The Abu Dhabi trade in raw tobacco declined by 20 percent during the first nine months of the year, as per figures released recently by the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi on the Emirate's non-oil trade movement.

The decline was recorded in the run-up to the application of the excise tax on tobacco and energy and carbonated drinks by 100 percent and 50 percent respectively.

The statistics showed that the total value of tobacco trade decreased to AED345.7 million during the period from January through the end of September 2017 from AED413 million during the corresponding period 2016.

Tobacco re-exports likewise edged down to AED345 million during the monitored period from AED404 million during the same period in 2016.

The emirate's tobacco imports went down in value to AED3 million from January through September 2017 against AED8.5 million during the same period in 2016, while the exports remained very low.

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