Abu Dhabi : The UAE's non-oil foreign trade reached Dh55 billion in January, according to a report issued by the Federal Customs Authority.

Out of this amount, imports amounted to Dh37 billion, exports were Dh5.6 billion while re-exports reached Dh12.4 billion.

The total non-oil foreign trade weighed 5.8 million tonnes, out of which 3.7 million were imports, 1.3 million were exports and 0.8 million tonnes were re-exports.

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Acting Director General of the Authority, said issuing monthly reports helps decision makers take more accurate and positive decisions due to the accuracy and promptness of the reports.

He said the statistics in January this year showed that foreign trade has declined by 4 per cent to Dh55 billion compared to January last year when it reached Dh57 billion.

The decline is comparatively positive if the global economic recession is taken into consideration and compared to the expectations of economists.

Statistics revealed a high growth of 21 per cent in exports and re-exports, as exports reached Dh5.6 billion compared to Dh4.6 billion in January 2009, while re-exports saw a growth of 9 per cent to reach Dh12.4 billion from Dh11.4 billion in January 2009.

Imports declined by 10 per cent to reach Dh37 billion from Dh41 billion in January 2009.

"The increase in exports and decline in imports reflect the improvement in the balance of trade between the UAE and the outside world during the reviewed period," Al Bustani said.

It also highlights the growing competitiveness of the UAE exports in global markets, despite the repercussions of the global financial crisis that hit global economies during that period, he said.

Regarding the geographic distribution of foreign trade, the authority's report said India, China, US, Germany, Japan, UK, Italy, Saudi Arabia, France and South Korea were the top 10 countries the UAE imported from in January, with a total value of Dh23 billion amounting to 62 per cent of total imports.

Meanwhile, India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, Nepal, Iraq, Egypt, Kuwait and Qatar were the top importing countries from the UAE for non-oil commodities, which totalled Dh42 billion amounting to 75 per cent of the total exports.