Imports at Dh167.9bn while exports and re-exports hit Dh118.7bn
Trade from the UAE's free zones hit Dh286.6 billion in 2009, which was 29.4 per cent of the country's total non-oil trade of Dh974bn, the country's Federal Customs Authority has said in a statement.
Of the free zones trade, imports accounted for Dh167.9bn while exports and re-exports were Dh118.7bn, the FCA statement said. Accordingly, the total UAE trade volume (non-oil foreign trade and free zones trade) amounted to nearly Dh974bn in 2009, of which imports hit Dh615.3bn, while exports and re-exports contributed Dh331.7bn.
The FCA also pointed out that in 2009, the daily average weight of imported and exported shipments and consignments dealt with by the different free zones amounted to about 96,000 tonnes per day on the basis of official working hours (8 hours for 5 days a week), with an average of 12,000 tonnes per hour
Overall, the authority pointed out that the total trade volume of free zones in terms of weight reached about 23.1 million tonnes, including 15.2m tonnes of imports, 7.9m tonnes of exports and re-exports.
China, India, the US, Japan, the UK, South Korea, Germany, France, Malaysia, and Hungary, respectively, were the leading exporters to the free zones last year with a total export value of Dh110.4bn, or 66 per cent of the total value of the UAE imports.
Regarding exports and re-exports, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, India, Kuwait, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Hong Kong, and Belgium consecutively were on top with a gross value of Dh74.2bn, representing 62 per cent of the total UAE export and re-exports.
The exports of the UAE free zones to the GCC countries rose in 2009 compared to its imports, which means that GCC region is a key export destination for UAE free zones, the FCA analysed.
In 2009, the trade volume with the rest of the GCC nations amounted to almost Dh30.6bn, of which imports represented just Dh3.6bn compared with Dh27bn in exports.
According to the FCA, Saudi Arabia was the leading trading partner among GCC countries with a trade volume of Dh17.7bn, or 58 per cent of the GCC total volume. It was followed by Qatar (Dh4.8bn representing 16 per cent of total volume), Kuwait (Dh4.5bn, or 15 per cent of total volume), Bahrain (Dh2bn representing 7 per cent), and Oman (Dh1.6bn representing 5 per cent).
The total trade volume of the UAE free zones with the Arab countries amounted to Dh55.6bn in 2009, of which imports contributed Dh4.6bn and exports (Dh51bn) with an increase in UAE free zones exports as compared to its imports.
Saudi Arabia ranked first with a share of Dh17.7bn, followed by Iraq (Dh10.1bn), Qatar (Dh4.8bn), Kuwait (Dh4.5bn), Egypt (Dh3.4bn), Libya (Dh2.2bn), Bahrain (Dh2bn), Jordan (Dh2bn), Oman (Dh1.6bn), Lebanon (Dh1.52bn), Syria (Dh1.5bn) and Yemen (Dh1.4bn).
FCA has revealed that phones topped the list of imports in the UAE free zones last year, with a gross value of Dh21.8bn. They were followed by oil and minerals (Dh13.6bn), gold (Dh13.5bn), date processing devices, magnetic and optical readers (Dh10.1bn), diamonds (Dh5.7bn), vehicles (Dh5.3bn), monitors and projectors (Dh4.3bn), and spare parts of tractors and cars (Dh3.4bn).
The FCA has further added that phones were the main exports in the UAE free zones last year, with a gross value of Dh16.3bn, followed by oil and minerals (Dh10.5bn), date processing devices, magnetic and optical readers (Dh8.9bn), gold (Dh5.9bn), diamonds (Dh5.4bn), vehicles (Dh4.3bn), cigars, cigarillos and cigarettes (Dh3.6bn), and monitors, projectors and TVs (Dh3.6bn).
© Emirates 24|7 2010
