DUBAI: Dubai’s non-oil external trade surged 31 percent in the first half of 2021 to reach AED722.3 billion ($196 billion) from AED550.6 billion in the corresponding period in 2020.
Exports grew 45 percent year on year (YoY) in H1 2021 to AED109.8 billion from AED75.8 billion.
The rise in exports supports the goal of the 10×10 program (one of the nation’s ‘Projects of the 50’ initiatives) to increase the UAE’s exports to 10 global markets by 10 percent annually, an official statement said.
Imports rose by 29.3 percent YoY to AED414 billion from AED320 billion. Re-exports grew 28.3 percent YoY to AED198.6 from AED154.79.
The volume of Dubai’s non-oil external trade in the first half of 2021 rose 10 percent to 48 million tons compared to 43.7 million tons in H1 2020, the statement added.
Exports increased 30.8 percent YoY to reach 10.1 million tons. Re-exports totaled 7 million tons growing by 10.6 percent, and imports rose by 4.25 percent to 31 million tons.
China maintained its position as Dubai’s biggest trading partner in H1 2021 with AED86.7 billion worth of trade compared to AED66.3 billion in H1 2020, up 30.7 percent YoY.
Trade with India grew 74.5 percent YoY to AED67.1 billion from AED38.5 billion. Trade with the USA amounted to AED32 billion up 1 percent YoY from AED31.7. Saudi Arabia came fourth with AED30.5 billion up 26 percent YoY from AED24.1 billion, followed by Switzerland with AED24.8 up 2.3 percent YoY from AED 24.2 billion.
The total share of the five biggest trade partners in H1 2020 amounted to AED241.21 billion compared to AED185.06 billion in H1 2020, up 30.34 percent.
Gold topped the list of commodities in Dubai’s H1 external trade at AED138.8 billion (19.2 percent of Dubai trade), followed by telecoms at AED94 billion (13 percent). Diamonds came third in the list at AED57.3 billion (8 percent), followed by jewelry at 4.1 billion (4.7 percent), and vehicle trade at AED28 billion (4 percent).
Direct trade in H1 2021 totaled AED445.6 billion, up 39.5 percent, while trade through free zones reached AED272 billion, up 19.8 percent. Customs warehouse trade weighed in at AED4.5 billion, up 8.1 percent. Airborne trade accounted for AED364.8 billion, jumping 46.15 percent from AED249.6 billion in H1 2020.
Sea trade reached AED247.5 billion, up 16.7 percent compared to AED212.18 billion, while land trade touched AED110 billion, up 23.7 percent compared to AED88.8 billion.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council, said Dubai has reinforced its status as one of the world’s fastest-growing business hubs.
Al Maktoum added that Dubai’s existing sea and air network will be expanded to cover 200 new cities around the world.
Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group Chairman & CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said Dubai is at the forefront of international economic recovery and “we are on track to increase our global trade to AED2 trillion in the coming years”.
Bin Sulayem added that 10 new countries have joined the world’s first logistics loyalty program that brings together airport authorities, port operators and shipping agents.
“This incentive-based loyalty program enables freight forwarders, traders and business owners to draw the maximum possible benefits from their trading operations, which can be translated to an increase of 5 percent to 10 percent in revenues,” he said.
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, CEO of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said advanced systems at Dubai Customs completed 12.7 million customs declarations in eight months, an average of 55,000 daily. Customs transactions in H1 2021 grew 53.4 percent to 11.2 million.