Dubai: The UAE's non-oil trade grew 18 per cent to Dh63 billion in March, up from Dh53 billion in March 2009, according to preliminary statistics released by the Federal Customs Authority (FCA).
This includes Dh40.8 billion worth of imports, Dh6.8 billion of exports and Dh15.4 billion in re-exports.
The UAE's foreign trade in the same period reached 5.8 million tonnes in volume including 3.7 million tonnes of imports, 1.4 million tonnes of exports and 700,000 tonnes of re-exports.
Total value of imports increased 11 per cent from Dh36.6 billion in March 2009 to Dh40.8 billion in March 2010.
The value of exports, meanwhile, jumped 46 per cent from Dh4.6 billion to Dh6.8 billion, while re-exports were up 29 per cent, from Dh11.9 billion to Dh15.4 billion in the above period.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Acting General Manager of the Federal Customs Authority, said the release of the statistics was intended to support the authorities and industry stakeholders with regular and up-to-date information to help them make informed business decisions.
Al Bustani said the statistics show considerable growth in all fields of the UAE's non-oil foreign trade, which reflects the positive image of the national economy within that period.
"The upward trend of the UAE's foreign trade in the first quarter is a good indication that the UAE has achieved targeted economic growth levels during the current year."
Sharp growth
Meanwhile, the country's trade during the first quarter of 2010 rose 5 per cent to Dh171.7 billion, up from Dh164 billion in the first quarter of 2009.
While imports dropped 2 per cent in that period from Dh113.6 billion to Dh113.4 billion, exports jumped 23 per cent from Dh14.1 billion to Dh17.4 billion.
Re-exports rose 13 per cent from Dh36.3 billion in the first quarter of 2009 to Dh40.9 billion in the same period of 2010.
The FCA said that the value of the UAE's non-oil foreign trade rose 13 per cent from Dh55.6 billion in January 2010 to Dh63 billion in March, and by 19 per cent, from Dh53 billion in February to Dh63 billion in March.
Imports in March — Dh40.8 billion — were up 9 per cent and 16 per cent compared to Dh37.4 billion in January and Dh35.2 billion in February respectively.
Non-oil exports at Dh6.8 billion in March were 20 per cent and 39 per cent higher compared to Dh5.7 billion in January and Dh4.9 billion in February.
The re-export trade in the same period experienced growth of 24 per cent and 19 per cent from Dh12.5 billion in January and Dh12.9 billion in February to Dh15.4 billion in March.
On an average, UAE ports and customs handled 24,000 tonnes of cargo daily, which worked out to 3,000 tonnes per hour.
Sources and destinations
Among the UAE's trading partners, India, China, the US, Japan, Germany, the UK, Italy, Switzerland, France and Malaysia, respectively topped the list of exporting countries to the UAE in March with a total of Dh24.6 billion or 60 per cent of the total of the UAE's imports.
On the list of importers, the top 10 countries were India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, Pakistan, Iran and Yemen, representing Dh5.2 billion or 76 per cent of the total for the same period.
In re-exports, India, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Belgium, Switzerland and Germany topped the list of destinations with a total of Dh10.8 billion, accounting for 70 per cent of re-exports.
Region
The total non-oil trade with the GCC states, according to preliminary figures for March, amounted to Dh4.7 billion.
The shares of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait were Dh1.8 billion, Dh813 million, Dh769 million, Dh800 million and Dh542 million, respectively.
Dubai's share of trade in March amounted to Dh38.3 billion.
The shares of Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain stood at Dh9.7 billion, Dh3.8 billion, Dh288 million, Dh482 million, Dh816 million and Dh30 million respectively. Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah represented about 82 per cent of the UAE's non-oil trade.
