Dubai: Dubai’s non-oil trade for the first half of 2013 amounted to Dh679 billion in value, a growth rate of 16 per cent from last year’s Dh584 billion during the same period.
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, expressed his satisfaction with the results, which he said further consolidate confidence in Dubai’s adopted economic framework that is characterised by openness to the world.
Shaikh Hamdan said that such positive figures are the result of a sound economic policy carefully implemented by the Dubai Government that took into consideration global economic changes, and revealed Dubai’s capability to positively adapt to these changes in a way that serves the emirate’s strategic goals.
He said that such strong figures only serve as a motivation for improving the emirate’s economic performance and results, and said that the results complement the many achievements accomplished by the UAE in various fields under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and close follow-up of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The strong results are largely attributed to an increase in exports, which accounted for 22 per cent of trade (Dh84 billion) compared to Dh69 billion from the first half of 2012. Imports also recorded an increase of 16 per cent, increasing from Dh349 billion in 2012 to Dh409 billion in 2013. Re-exportat trade recorded a growth of 13 per cent, rising to Dh188 billion in 2013 from Dh166 billion in 2012.
The tourism sector also showed a strong performance, with the number of tourists amounting to 5.5 million, an increase of 11 per cent in the first half of 2013. Dubai welcomed more than 10 million tourists in the entire year of 2012, a record-breaking number for the emirate.
Dubai recorded a growth of 9 per cent in non-oil trade in the first half of 2012, and an overall increase of 13 per cent. Growth recorded during the first half of 2013 has already exceeded expectations of a 14 per cent growth for the entire 2013 year, which reflects how much foreign trade has benefited from growth in other sectors.
Dubai’s trade with Arab countries was valued at Dh105 billion in 2013, an eight per cent rise from Dh98 billion in the first half of 2012.
Gold led the list of imported commodities, with imports valued at Dh50 billion, followed by aluminium ores valued at Dh3 billion. Both jewellery and tobacco products also recorded imports valued at Dh2 billion.
