Abu Dhabi’s non-oil exports surge 22%

ABU DHABI — The total volume of foreign trade of Abu Dhabi declined 2.58 per cent to Dh109.17 billion in 2010 compared to the previous year.

According to the General Directorate of Customs at Abu Dhabi’s Department of Finance, there was growth in exports and a decline in imports, showing the emirate’s dependence on imports being stable.

Overall non-oil exports grew by 22.2 per cent to Dh11.61 billion with imports declining by 7.8 per cent. However, there was a sharp surge of 26.4 per cent in re-exports reaching Dh10.99 billion with Bahrain ranked first followed by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“The statistical data for 2010 shows continued growth in the non-oil exports and re-exports compared to 2009, with a minor decline in imports. These figures reflect the overall improvement of the trade balance of the Abu Dhabi over the past year,” said Customs Director- General Saeed Ahmed Al Muhairi.

Non-oil exports from Abu Dhabi grew to Dh11.61 billion compared to Dh9.5 billion in 2009, an increase of 22.2 per cent. The customs statistics showed a decline in imports recording Dh86.57 billion, a decline of 7.8 per cent compared to Dh93.87 billion in 2009. Re-exports reached Dh10.99 billion, up 26.4 per cent compared to Dh8.69 billion in the year 2009. “The figures reflect the growth of non-oil export competitiveness of UAE products in global markets as well as the soundness of the economic policies pursued by our wise leadership. We continuously strive to facilitate foreign trade and reinforce growth in the volume of exports, fuelling the economic activities in the country. As a result, we expect further positive results in terms of foreign trade during the year 2011,” said Al Muhairi.

Statistics of the annual foreign trade volumes revealed the growing role of airports, where imports through airports stood at 19.4 per cent, marine ports at 57.4 per cent and land ports at 23.2 per cent. “Foreign trade plays an important role in the formation of economic relations between the UAE and the other countries in the world. We seek to maximise the country’s foreign trade, which is an influential element in the economy and one of the important indicators that reflect the country’s economic conditions. We also seek to boost the Emirate’s business community relationship with other countries for greater cooperation with developed economies and benefit from the advanced technology available to them,” Al Muhairi said.

nissar@khaleejtimes.com