DUBAI 29 December 2019: Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade surged to 83 million tonnes in the first nine months of 2019, an increase of 22 percent year-on-year from 68 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.
The volume of re-exports skyrocketed 48 percent to reach 13 million tons. Exports rose by 47% to 14 million tonnes while imports grew by 13 percent to 56 million tonnes.
In terms of value, Dubai’s external trade rose 6 percent to exceed the trillion mark, reaching Dh1.02 trillion compared to Dh966 million in the same period in 2018. Exports rose by 23 percent to Dh118 billion, re-exports grew by 4 percent to Dh312 billion, and imports rose 3% to Dh589 billion.
Dubai achieved regular quarterly profits in 2019. The third quarter saw the highest trade activity worth Dh343 billion, a growth of 7 percent. The second quarter’s trade activity witnessed 3 percent growth to reach Dh337 billion while the first quarter’s trade activity saw a 7 percent growth to reach Dh339 billion, compared to the same period in 2018.
Top-5 Partners
China remained Dubai’s largest trading partner, contributing Dh109 billion, a 6 per cent increase. India was the second biggest trading partner, contributing Dh100 billion, a growth of 16 percent, followed by USA with Dh57 billion and Switzerland with Dh47 billion. Saudi Arabia maintained its position as Dubai’s largest Arab trade partner. The country was its fifth-biggest partner globally with Dh42 billion worth of trade.
The trade of gold contributed Dh129 billion, growing by 17 percent. The second-highest traded commodity by value was mobile phones which grew 7 percent to reach Dh119 billion. Trade in petroleum oils reached Dh68 billion while diamonds accounted for Dh63 billion.
Free Zones
Dubai’s foreign trade out of free zones was a big contributor to the overall increase, accounting for Dh439 billion, a 11 per cent (+Dh45bn) increase year-on-year. Direct trade achieved 2 percent growth to reach Dh574 billion, an Dh10 billion rise from the first nine months of 2018.
Customs warehouse trade hit Dh6 billion, land trade grew by 11 percent contributing Dh169 billion, sea trade increased by 5 percent to Dh381 billion, and air trade rose by 4percent, accounting for Dh469 billion.
