Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade rises 6 per cent to Dhs1.37 trillion in 2019

The volume of Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade in 2019 grew 19 per cent from 91 million tons in 2018 to 109 million tons last year, according to news agency WAM.

The volume of re-exports rose 48 per cent to reach 17 million tons, while exports rose by 45 per cent to 19 million tons and imports by 9 per cent to 72 million tons.

Dubai’s foreign trade in 2019 was Dhs1.371 trillion, up 6 per cent from Dhs1.299 trillion in 2018.

Read: Dubai’s non-oil trade grew 6% to reach Dhs1.02 trillion in first nine months of 2019

The latest figures have indicated that between 2010-2019, Dubai’s external trade has grown 70 per cent.

The value of exports in 2019 increased 22 per cent year-on-year to Dhs155bn, while that of re-exports grew 4 per cent to Dhs420bn and imports grew 3 per cent to Dhs796bn.

China was Dubai’s largest trading partner, accounting for Dhs150bn. India was its second-biggest trading partner, contributing Dhs135bn, followed by America with Dhs77.7 billion, and Switzerland with Dhs60bn.

Saudi Arabia remained Dubai’s largest Arab trade partner, the emirate’s fifth biggest trading partner and accounting for trade worth Dhs56bn.

Dubai’s free zones were a major contributor to the spurt in the emirate’s foreign trade, which was up 11 per cent in 2019, amounting to Dhs592bn.

“Free zones in Dubai are a key factor behind the emirate’s trade success. The sophisticated infrastructure of our free zones, especially Jebel Ali Free Zone, JAFZA, has helped businesses benefit from different incentives and facilities, and attracted more foreign investments over the years,” said Sultan bin Sulayem, DP World Group chairman and CEO and chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation.

Direct trade was up 2 per cent to reach Dhs770bn while customs warehouse trade hit Dhs9bn.

A breakdown of how Dubai’s foreign trade was carried out reveals that land trade grew 11 per cent to Dhs228bn, air trade rose 5 per cent to Dhs641bn and sea trade rose 4 per cent to Dhs502bn.

The number of customs transactions completed by Dubai Customs grew 34 per cent in 2019 to 13 million from 9.7 million in 2018.

The highest traded commodity by value in 2019 was gold, jewellery and diamonds which accounted for Dhs370bn, up 7 per cent over 2018.

Gold amounted to Dhs169.5bn, followed by phones with Dhs164bn – an increase of 9 per cent from the previous year. The third-highest traded commodity was jewellery at Dhs116.6 billion, followed by petroleum oils which contributed Dhs85.4bn in 2019, a growth of 55 per cent, and diamonds which accounted for Dhs83.9bn.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council said, “Inspired by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai’s external trade sector is progressing steadily towards the 2025 trade target of AED2 trillion set by His Highness.”