UAE’s non-oil foreign trade hits AED1.2trn in 9 months

Abu Dhabi / WAM

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade has achieved remarkable growth in re-exports by 5 percent during the first nine of 2018, compared to the same period last year, in a move that reflects the high competitive advantage of the re-export activity in UAE, and its global standing in this field, according to preliminary statistical data of the Federal Customs Authority (FCA).
In a press statement, the authority said that the volume of non-oil foreign trade in UAE (direct trade, free zone trade and customs warehouses) reached AED1.2 trillion during the first nine months of 2018.
Ali Saeed Al Neyadi, Customs Commissioner and Head of the Authority, said that the country’s non-oil foreign trade continues to grow and stabilise despite the slowdown witnessed by many international markets in light of the decline in oil prices and limited growth rates in the major economies.
Explaining that this stability is a result of the core efforts of the leadership in the field of economic diversification policy and build a strong national productive base, in addition to transforming the business environment into an attractive and stimulating environment for national and foreign capital, which has contributed to the continued leadership of the UAE as a regional trading hub.
The authority stated that the value of non-oil imports amounted to AED697.2 billion, noting that the imports of native and semi-proceed gold came at the forefront of the best imported goods worth AED83.4 billion equivalent to 12 percent of the total value of states’s imports during the said period.
Telephone equipment ranked second with AED54.1 billion representing 8 percent followed by cars imports of AED42.3 billion value at 6 percent.