Abu Dhabi: The total value of UAE’s non-oil foreign trade rose to Dh927.6 billion in 2011 compared to Dhs754.4 billion in 2010, an increase of Dh173.3 billion, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said.

“This recorded an increase by 23 per cent over 2010. Dubai came first in non-oil exports with a total trade value of Dh700.4 billion, comprising 76 per cent of the total foreign trade of the UAE in 2011,” according to NBS.

“Abu Dhabi came second for non-oil foreign trade with a total value of Dh139.4 billion, which accounts for 15 per cent of the UAE’s foreign trade in 2011. Sharjah came third with a foreign trade of Dh68.3 billion, accounting for 7 per cent of UAE’s total foreign trade,” NBS said.

“The other four emirates accounted for 3 per cent of the country’s foreign trade in 2011,” according NBS.

“The total value of imports amounted to Dh602.8 billion in 2011 compared to Dh485.4 billion in 2010, an increase of 24.2 per cent,” NBS added.

It said: “Exports amounted to Dh114 billion in 2011 compared to Dh83.1 billion in 2010, an increase of 37.2 per cent. However, the total value of re-exports amounted to Dh210.8 billion in 2011 compared to Dh185.9 billion in 2010, a rise of 13.4 per cent.”

Major trading partner

India is the UAE’s major trading partner.

“The largest percentage of imports come from Eastern Asia, particularly India, which came in the first place, as the volume of imports from there amounted to 17.1 per cent, followed by China at 10.3 per cent, the US came third at 8.5 per cent,” NBS said.

The bureau added: “India came first as UAE’s trading partner for non-oil exports as the volume rose by 33.7 per cent, Switzerland came second with a rise of 16.2 per cent while exports to KSA came third by a 4.5 per cent rise.”

Dr Mohammad Amerah, chief economist at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, told Gulf News: “This is a positive indicator that the UAE economy’s performance is improving in spite of the international recession and regional economic problems.”

“The growth in UAE’s foreign trade is attributed to the growth of national manufacturing industries such as steel and aluminium as well as commercial services, particularly in Dubai,” Amerah said.