UAE non-oil trade grows by 2.3% in Q1-2012

The UAE non-oil foreign trade maintained an impressive growth in the first quarter of 2012, according to statistical data released by the Federal Customs Authority (FCA). It showed that the growth rate of UAE exports hit 38% in the said quarter, raising the exports to AED 34.3 b compared to AED 24,8 b in the same period of the last year with an increase of AED 9.5 b. In the same period, the UAE imports rose to 6%, raising the UAE non-oil imports by AED 8.9 b from AED 147 b in the first quarter of 2011 to AED 156.3 b this year. The re-exports reached AED 47.8 b within this period. "The growth rate of the UAE non-oil foreign trade hit 2.3% in the first quarter of this year", the FCA said. "Preliminary statistical data showed that the UAE total non-oil trade with foreign countries rose by AED 5.4 b to AED 238.4 b from January to late March 2012, compared to AED 233 b in the same period last year. In terms of weight, the UAE total foreign trade hit about 23.4 million tons in the first quarter of 2012, including 13.1 million tons in imports, 8.4 million tons in exports and 2.3 million tons in re-exports, the FCA said. The daily average of consignments- imported, exported and re-exported- processed by different customs outlets hit about 99 thousand tons per day with an average of 12 thousand tonse per hour. "The UAE non-oil trade with the outside world hit about AED 83.5 b in March 2012 only; AED 54.7 b in imports, AED 12.2 b in exports and AED 16.6 b of re-exports", the FCA said. Asia-Pacific region, the FCA said, maintained first place among the top non-oil trade partners of the UAE in the same quarter. The region's total trade with the UAE reached AED 110.2 b by 47% of the total trade, followed by Europe with AED 58.8 b (25% of the total), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region with AED 31 b (13%), America and the Caribbean with AED 21.3 b (9%), the Central and Western Africa with AED 6.7 b (2.9%) and COMESA with AED 6.3 b (2.7%). The total of UAE non-oil foreign trade with the Gulf Council Countries (GCC) hit AED 18.6 billion in the first quarter of this year, the FCA said in the press release. This total consisted of AED 6.9 billion in imports, AED 4.8 billion in exports and AED 6.9 billion in re-exports. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), the FCA said, kept its top place among the UAE trade partners from the GCC in the first quarter. The UAE total trade with the KSA reached AED 7.1 billion. Oman came in the second place with AED 4.7 billion followed by Kuwait with AED 2.4 billion, Qatar with AED 2.4 billion and finally Bahrain with AED 2 billion. The UAE total foreign trade with Arab countries hit about AED 31.8 billion in the first quarter. This total is divided into AED 14.1 billion in imports; AED 7 billion in exports and AED 10.7 billion in re-exports", the FCA added. The preliminary statistics for the first quarter of this year showed that gold came at the top of the imported goods with AED 26.5 billion, followed by diamond with AED 11.7 billion, cars with AED 9 billion and jewelry with AED 7.1 billion, the FCA said. In the first quarter, the FCA said, gold was the top among exported goods with AED 17.6 billion, followed by polyethylene and propylene polymers in crude forms with AED 3.8 billion, jewels and pieces of jewelry with AED 1.1 billion and petroleum and other oils with AED 812 million. Diamond, the FCA indicated, came first in re-exports in the first quarter of 2012 with AED 12 billion, followed by jewels and pieces of jewelry with AED 3.6 billion, phones with AED 3.4 billion. The total trade of markets and free zones, the FCA said, hit AED 3.8 billion in the same period.