Dubai records $92.3b non-oil foreign trade

DUBAI / WAM

Dubai recorded a non-oil foreign trade of AED 339 billion ($92.3 billion) in the first quarter of 2019, announced Dubai customs, registering an increase of seven percent year-on-year from AED316 billion recorded during the same period last year.
Exports registered the most growth, rising 30 percent to reach AED42 billion while re-exports grew seven percent to AED106 billion and imports went up by four percent to reach AED190 billion.
Data released by Dubai Customs showed that Dubai’s Q1 2019 non-oil trade volumes increased by 32 percent to as much as 28 million tonnes (21 million tonnes in Q1 2018). Exports rose by 94 percent to six million tonnes while re-exports surged 41 percent to four million tonnes and imports rose 16 percent to 17 million tonnes.
Commenting on the non-oil trade figures in the first quarter, HH Sheikh Hamdan bin
Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, said, “This robust performance and marked growth of Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade is an indication that we are on the right path of revenue diversification in alignment with the values and standards outlined in the
50-Year Charter.”
Dubai’s non-oil trade grew 58 percent in the 2010-2019 decade; an increase of AED124 billion from Q1 2010 which saw AED 215 billion.
Trade through free zones reached AED147 billion (+20 percent YoY). Direct trade was the largest contributor to total trade at AED189 billion (-0.5 percent YoY) and customs warehousing accounted for AED2.3 billion (-21 percent YoY).
Air and sea trade accounted for 85 percent of the total trade, with both witnessing double-digit increases.