Dubais non-oil external trade grows 10% in Q1

DUBAI: Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade reached 354.4 billion dirhams ($96.5 billion) in the first three months of 2021 – indicating a 10 percent increase from the same period last year.

Exports grew 25 percent to 50.5 billion dirhams while imports rose by 9 percent to 204.8 billion dirhams, state news agency WAM reported.

Re-exports reached 99 billion dirhams in the same period, growing 5.5 percent.

“This remarkable performance reflects our external trade sector’s impressive resilience and its ability to rebound and grow in the face of major international crises,” the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, said.

He attributed the growth to the emirate’s advanced infrastructure, good governance, as well as the “generous stimulus packages” launched to support businesses during the pandemic.

Dubai earlier launched a five-year economic strategy to raise external trade to 2 trillion dirhams, and leverage its potential as a global trade hub given its location.

“Furthermore, by hosting Expo 2020, ‘the world’s greatest show’, Dubai will make a significant contribution to the recovery of the global economy and help it move toward prosperity again,” Sheikh Mohammed added.

It helped that global trading activities in Dubai were not heavily affected by the health crisis, Sultan bin Sulayem, group chairman of port operator DP World, said.

“The impressive success of the vaccination campaign in the UAE has created high levels of global confidence in the country and helped Dubai add to its profile as the city with the world’s most favorable business environment,” he said.

Sulayem highlighted Dubai’s ongoing campaign to create a global logistics network through a passport system that eases international trade.

Countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, and Brazil have joined the network, and several international shipping giants have signed up to benefit from it.

Airborne trade grew 15 percent to 179 billion dirhams, while sea trade accounted for 120 billion dirhams, recording a 3 percent increase. Land trade rose by 7 percent to 55.3 billion dirhams.

China is still Dubai’s biggest trading partner in the first three months of the year, with 44 billion dirhams worth of trade, representing a 30 percent increase.

It is followed by India at 35 billion dirhams, the US at 15.4 billion dirhams, and Saudi Arabia at 14.7 billion dirhams.

Gold topped the list of commodities in the emirate’s external trade at 63 billion dirhams, followed by telecoms, diamonds, jewelry, and vehicle trading.