The value of goods passing through UAE ports increased 5 per cent last year, propelled by growing imports.
The total amount of non-oil related goods traded through the UAE grew 5 per cent to Dh1.58 trillion, customs officials said yesterday.
In total 198.3 million tonnes of goods passed through the country’s seaports and airports last year, working out at 103,000 tonnes an hour.
Figures released yesterday by the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) revealed that the total value of imports grew last year by 5.6 per cent to Dh971.2 billion from Dh919.9bn in 2012.
Gold was the top commodity imported last year, followed by phone sets, cars, diamonds and articles of jewellery.
The value of re-exports – goods that are imported into the UAE and then exported to another country in the same condition – grew 10.9 per cent to Dh443.4bn from Dh399.7bn in 2012.
“The companies and factories established in the UAE are playing a critical role in facilitating trade, especially in Asia and the Middle East region, the Arabian Gulf, Europe and Africa,” an FCA spokesman said.
The figures support news from the National Bureau of Statistics this month that the UAE’s economy grew at 5.2 per cent last year – the fastest rate since 2007.
However, the UAE’s much smaller export market slumped as the value of non-oil related goods exported fell 7.9 per cent to Dh171.2bn from Dh186bn in 2012.
Major non-oil exports from the UAE included live animals, carpets, fabrics and meat.
Most of the country’s non-oil trade was done with the Asia Pacific region, including China and India, which accounted for 43 per cent of all non-oil related trade. Europe made up the UAE’s second largest trade market, accounting for another 24 per cent, while North Africa and the rest of the Middle East accounted for 17 per cent.
The news came as IHS Economics warned that the UAE’s cash surpluses created by its oil exports would shrink this year to US$50.8 billion.
The company estimated that cash surpluses last year stood at $65bn – down slightly from $69bn in 2012.
“We project the trade surplus will drop to $127.1bn [in 2014] under our baseline oil-price assumption of US$109 a barrel” said Bryan Plamondon, a senior economist at IHS.
“Non-oil exports should provide some underlying strength thanks to healthy demand from Asia, the UAE’s main destination for goods trade.”
He added that UAE re-exports, which had suffered after the key source market Iran was hit by sanctions, could improve this year amid signs of accord between Tehran and the West.
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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