Dubai immune so far to global trade woes

Dubai's trade rises by nearly a quarter in the first six months of the year, signalling the emirate has not yet felt the impact of weakening global demand for goods.

Exports from Dubai increased 37 per cent to Dh45 billion.
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Dubai's trade surged 24 per cent in the first six months of the year to Dh345 billion (US$93.9bn).

The Numbers:

Dubai trade On the up, the first six months have been positive.

The strong growth suggests the emirate has not yet felt an impact of a weakening in global trade demand.

Imports to Dubai rose to Dh214bn during the period, 21 per cent up from Dh177bn in the first six months of last year, data from Dubai Customs shows. Exports increased 37 per cent to Dh45bn, from Dh33bn during the same period. Re-exports rose by a quarter to Dh86bn, compared with Dh69bn in the first half of last year.

Overall, non-oil trade rose from Dh279bn during the first six months of last year to Dh345bn.

"The positive results of Dubai foreign trade reflect … a robust economy and the recovery from the impacts of the world economic downturn," said Ahmed Butti Ahmed, the director general of Dubai Customs.

It also signalled the emirate was benefiting from recent trade agreements made with several countries, he said.

Total trade in the half was higher than Dubai was experiencing before the global financial crisis broke.

India cemented its place as Dubai's top trade partner during the period, accounting for as much as Dh100.5bn of overall trade. China and the US were the second and third biggest trade partners.

Gold was the most valuable commodity traded during the first six months. A total of Dh36.4bn worth of gold was shipped into the emirate, with as much as Dh27.7bn of the metal exported. Diamonds amounted to Dh35.6bn of goods imported and Dh37.2bn of re-exports.

Dubai's emergence over the years from a small fishing port to an international business centre has been pegged on its position as a regional and global trading centre. As a result its economy has remained closely linked to fluctuations in overall global demand for goods and services.

So far, however, a softening in global trade has not been revealed in Dubai's export and import data.

Increasing uncertainty about the global economy prompted the World Trade Organization last month to cut its forecast for worldwide trade this year to 5.8 per cent from the 6.5 per cent it predicted in April.

Export growth from China and Singapore, both leading global exporters, dropped last month.