Dubai non-oil foreign trade increases by 13% year-on-year in Q3 2017

The Dubai government has issued it's non-oil trade figures for Q3 2017, outlining that the economy continued to witness strong progress despite challenging regional and global economic conditions. The sustained growth supports the UAE Centennial Plan 2071, which seeks to further raise living standards for future generations and create a sustainable society.

Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade increased to AED344 billion in the third quarter of 2017, an increase of 13 percent year-on-year from AED305 billion in the corresponding quarter of last year. Re-exports were the key driver of growth in the quarter, rising 34 percent to AED103 billion, a relatively strong performance given the challenging geo-political backdrop.

Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, said, "Dubai’s resilience to external economic turbulence demonstrates the strong fundamentals of its economy and its ability to constantly find new avenues for growth. Sustainability along with innovation and diversification are deeply embedded in Dubai’s economic strategies as well as its key initiatives. This dynamism has been driven by the development vision of Vice President, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and his determination to ensure that Dubai ranks among the leading cities of the world. New projects together with the hosting of Expo 2020 promise to provide another strong boost to its economic vitality. Dubai is well-positioned to further enhance its growth momentum in the years ahead."

Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, commented, "During this challenging year, the Dubai economy has maintained its high competitiveness thanks to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the clear government vision that has informed the development of goals, plans and initiatives."

He added, "We are pleased to see that trading in Dubai continues to grow despite the economic and geopolitical challenges in the region. This is testament to the best-in-class infrastructure that we have built and our firm commitment to serving our customers, which has allowed trade to flourish. The World Bank recently stated that ‘Ease of Doing Business’ in the UAE improved further in 2017 with the country jumping 13 places to rank 21st worldwide in the index, which means the country continues to top the Arab region, a feat it has now achieved for the fifth year in a row. Our aim is to continue to build on our success. We strive to further improve efficiencies and remove bottlenecks to allow business to prosper."

Dubai saw growth across all three trade components (direct, free zones, customs warehouses) with free zone trade growing by a significant 21 percent in the quarter, direct trade by nine percent and customs warehouses by eight percent.

Similarly, Dubai saw growth across all modes of cargo with air, land and sea growing by 12 percent, 15 percent and 13 percent respectively. Value traded by sea reached AED124 billion, air AED153 billion and land AED67 billion.

Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade volumes, measured in weighed tonnes, grew by 5.1 percent to 23.4 million tonnes in the third quarter of 2017. This was driven primarily by export cargo, which grew 11.4 percent year-on-year in the third quarter and import cargo, which grew 5.2 percent year-on-year.

In the nine-month period to 30th September 2017, Dubai non-oil foreign trade grew by 3.5 percent year-on-year to AED985 billion with re-exports being the key growth driver. Imports remain the largest segment with AED592 billion in value. Nine-month trade by weight declined marginally by 2.9 percent to 68.8 million tonnes.

Trading with Dubai’s top ten partners remained robust as it grew 2.4 percent in the first nine months of the year to AED497 billion (Total value of nine month 2017 Dubai non-oil foreign trade was AED985 billion). China remains the largest trading partner, accounting for more than 25 percent of the trade (AED128.9 billion). India (AED74.1 billion) and the USA (AED62.4 billion) remained in the top three with Saudi Arabia (AED44.7 billion) being the largest trading partner within the region.

Dubai remains a key trading hub for electronics and jewellery as transactions in mobile phones reached AED127 billion in the first nine months, followed by gold (AED120 billion), diamonds (AED75 billion), and vehicles (AED52 billion).