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Dubai traders become more upbeat: Survey

The Outlook Survey of Dubai Traders 2007, conducted by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), shows that 64 per cent of the traders are optimistic about an increase in their trade volumes thanks to increased demand for their products. A survey last year showed that the number of traders who were optimistic of an upswing in their trade volumes dropped by eight per cent from 65 per cent in the previous year.

The same level of upbeat mood is evident in their expectations of higher sales in 2007 compared to 2006. The number of traders who expect 'higher-than-last-year' sales rose to 54 per cent after declining by 11 percentage points in 2006 from a level of 60 per cent in 2005, the DCCI survey shows.

The survey released by the DCCI yesterday also shows that small traders (who employ up to nine people) remained wary of increasing competition while big traders tended to look positively at competition.

While small traders had high expectations in 2005 and 2006, their confidence level hit a low in 2007. In contrast, large traders (employing more than 20 people), who had low expectations in 2005 and 2006, now have very high confidence level with almost all expecting demand level to go up.

Confidence level of medium-size traders (employing 10-19) has been steadily going up since 2005. In 2007, nearly 70 per cent in this category has positive market demand expectations.

The survey also finds that demand for commonly consumed goods is expected to rise in tandem with Dubai's population growth. "It is not surprising, therefore, that expectations of traders of household and consumer goods and of general goods are significantly higher this year than a year earlier. On the other hand, the expanding industrial sector of Dubai pushed up expectations of traders of machinery. However, traders of raw materials were not as upbeat as last year, as industries continued to import their requirements directly from sources," the DCCI survey showed.

It said traders of automobiles generally expect market demand to remain at comparable level to the previous year despite the expected increase in population.