United Arab Emirates: Dubai’s foreign trade increases 10% in the first quarter, according to Sheikh Hamdan – News

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, revealed on Saturday that Dubai’s foreign trade recorded double-digit growth in the first quarter of 2021.

According to a tweet, Dubai’s foreign trade increased by 10% in the first quarter of 2021 to reach 354.4 billion Dh compared to the same period in 2020 and by 5% compared to the first quarter of 2019.

10% 2021 354.4 2020 5% 2019 …

– Hamdan ben Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) June 12, 2021

“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid laid the foundations for a strong economy characterized by flexibility and the ability to effectively manage the surrounding variables to turn crises into opportunities,” Sheikh Hamdan tweeted.

…

– Hamdan ben Mohammed (@HamdanMohammed) June 12, 2021

“Dubai’s prompt and thoughtful measures, including economic stimulus packages, continue to prove their feasibility in accelerating recovery rates … The results confirm that we are transcending this exceptional milestone with creative thinking and effective alternatives that have helped achieve goals set across various industries, he said in another tweet.

The Dubai Media Office also said that the emirate’s economy has proven its resilience and ability to quickly recover from the global repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic by achieving high levels of non-oil foreign trade growth. during the January-March 2021 quarter.

Dubai’s foreign trade jumped 10% in the January-March 2021 quarter and reached Dh 354.4 billion against Dh 323 billion during the same period last year. It increased 5% compared to the same quarter in 2019, reflecting a rapid return to recovery and an ability to adapt to drastic changes in the international business environment.

Exports increased by 25 percent to reach Dh50.5 billion, representing a volume of five million tonnes or an increase of 20 percent during the quarter while imports amounted to Dh204.8 billion, or nine percent growth. In addition, the value of re-exports increased by 5.5% and reached 99 billion dirhams.

Impressive resilience of foreign trade

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, said this remarkable performance reflects “the impressive resilience of our foreign trade sector” and its ability to rebound and grow in the face of large international crises.

“Inspired by the vision and direction of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, we have always turned challenges into opportunities. We have been able to achieve this thanks to our good governance, our advanced infrastructure, our strategic location, our status as a regional and global hub for trade and the generous stimulus packages that the government has launched to support trade and businesses, ”Sheikh said Hamdan.

“This remarkable growth will bring us closer to the ambitious objective of Dubai’s five-year strategy of increasing the value of foreign trade to 2,000 billion dirhams and consolidating its position as a bridge linking regional and international markets by constantly improving its infrastructure and its logistics services.

“In addition, by hosting Expo 2020, ‘the world’s largest trade fair’, Dubai will make a significant contribution to the recovery of the global economy and help it return to prosperity,” he added. .

Dubai leads world trade

Sultan bin Sulayem, Chairman and CEO of DP World Group and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, said Dubai has quickly recovered from the repercussions of the current global crisis and resiliently developed its trade, spurred by its solid investments and advanced technological capabilities, which has enabled it to continue its global trading activities during a trying time.

He said the impressive success of the vaccination campaign in the UAE has created a high level of global trust in the country and helped Dubai to strengthen its profile as the city with the most favorable business environment in the world.

“We are leading the way in connecting east to west and north to south through a number of leading global projects, including the Global Logistics Passport, which Dubai has launched to facilitate international trade and build a global logistics network. The initiative provides economic benefits to member countries like Indonesia, India, Thailand, South Africa and Brazil, among others, ”Bin Sulayem said.

He said that major international shipping companies have also joined the World Logistics Passport to benefit from the more than 100 features it offers.

“Improvements to the initiative were announced at the recent Global Logistics Passport virtual summit held in Dubai on June 8, 2021,” he added.

Direct trade dominates

According to official data, direct trade jumped 15 percent in the quarter to reach 217 billion dirhams while trade through free zones increased 2 percent to 135 billion dirhams.

Airborne trade accounted for 179 billion dirhams, an increase of 15 percent. Maritime trade increased by three percent to reach 120 billion dirhams while land trade increased by seven percent to reach 55.3 billion dirhams.

China’s leading trading partner

China maintained its position as Dubai’s largest trading partner during the January-March quarter with trade worth 44 billion dirhams, an increase of 30%.

India came in second with 35 billion dirhams, reflecting growth of 17 percent. The United States took third place with a trade of 15.4 billion dirhams.

Saudi Arabia continued to be Dubai’s largest trading partner in the Gulf and Arab countries and its fourth largest trading partner in the world with 14.7 billion dirhams in trade, representing growth of 20%.

Turkey was the fifth largest trading partner with 12 billion dirhams, representing a staggering 72 percent growth.

Gold raw material

Gold topped the list of commodities in Dubai’s foreign trade in the first quarter with 63 billion dirhams, reflecting growth of 27%. Telecommunications took second place and jumped 32 percent to 50 billion dirhams; diamonds recorded a record growth of 61 percent and came third with 29 billion dirhams; jewelry monitoring with 17 billion dirhams; and the vehicle trade at Dh14billion.

Bin Sulayem said Dubai has strengthened its vital role in global trade by regularly hosting international trade events. These include the WCO Fifth World AEO Conference, which Dubai Customs organized in cooperation with the World Customs Organization and the Federal Customs Authority. The conference saw the participation of approximately 100 renowned speakers and more than 12,000 experts from 160 countries.

Further growth is expected to be generated with Dubai preparing to host Expo 2020. Dubai Customs is offering an enhanced set of facilities and services specially designed for Expo exhibitors.

– muzaffarrizvi@khaleejtimes.com