Dubai's direct trade with Iran

Imports and exports stood at 5 billion dirhams while re- exports were 31 billion dirhams, with most-traded items including food, clothing, rugs, cars, diamonds and jewelry as well as gold, Dubai Customs said in an e-mailed statement today, Bloomberg reported. It did not give comparative numbers for the previous year. "Dubai is like a hypermarket for Iran," Ahmed Butti Ahmed, executive chairman and director general at Dubai Customs, told reporters in Dubai today. In the United Arab Emirates, 80 percent of non-oil trade is channeled through Dubai, the Middle East's business and tourism hub, he said.