Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade reached Dhs201.2bn in 2020

Abu Dhabi’s non-oil foreign trade through its customs ports reached over Dhs201.2bn in 2020, 5.6 per cent lower compared to Dhs213.3bn recorded in 2019.

Its 2020 trade figures included Dhs92.5bn imports, exports worth Dhs73.46bn, and re-exports valued at Dhs35.26bn.

Saudi Arabia was Abu Dhabi’s biggest trading partner, with exchanges worth more than Dhs44.43bn, distributed between imports of Dhs11.47bn, and re-exports and exports of Dhs32.97bn.

Abu Dhabi’s neighbouring emirate of Dubai recently confirmed that its non-oil foreign trade reached Dhs1.185 trillion. Earlier this month, officials in Dubai added that the emirate’s foreign trade in Q1 2021 touched Dhs354.4bn, growing 10 per cent from Dhs323bn in the corresponding period in 2020.

Read: Dubai’s non-oil external trade grows to Dhs354bn in Q1 2021

Abu Dhabi Customs completed more than 1,093,144 digital customs transactions during 2020, its director-general of the General Administration, Rashed Lahej Al Mansouri, stated in an interview with official news agency WAM.

He added that the automation of services contributed to reducing the service time for customers and encouraged financial savings, as the need to visit the Customer Happiness Centres was significantly reduced.

The rate of customer satisfaction with digital customs services reportedly reached 95 per cent during 2020.

Meanwhile, Al Mansouri also noted that the number of narcotic and drug seizures made by Abu Dhabi Customs in 2020, amounted to 515 seizures in all customs ports of the emirate, compared to 1,790 seizures in 2019. The seizures included narcotics as well as prohibited and restricted substances.

The seized narcotic substances weighed around 24.32kg, and the narcotic pills weighed 21.6kg, compared to 78.3kg narcotic substances and 66.9kg of narcotic pills seized in 2019.