The preliminary statistics of the Federal Customs Authority, FCA, showed an increase in the UAE direct total foreign non-oil trade value, amounting to AED524.7 billion during the first half of 2014, of which imports amounted to AED340.1 billion, the exports to AED63.3 billion, and the re-exports to AED121.4 billion.
The FCA announced in a press statement yesterday that the UAE has continued to strengthen its pre-eminent position on the world trade map, and expand the role it plays in facilitating trade between countries during the first half of this year driven by the increase of activity in all economic sectors, and the improvement of the State's competitiveness in many global indicators.
UAE direct total foreign non-oil trade reached 86.4 million tons during the first half of the year, 33.74 million tons of which were imports, 47.1 million tons were exports and 5.6 million tons were re-exports.
The FCA declared that the daily average of custom weight processed by the different customs ports in foreign non-oil trade items in terms of export, import and re-export amounted to about 360,000 tons per day, on the basis of official working hours (8 hours a day, five days a week), with an average of 45,000 tons per hour.
The FCA added that the State's foreign non-oil trade was relatively growing more stable during the first half of the year.
The FCA confirmed that the UAE is keen to facilitate global trade and remove all the customs and non-customs obstacles facing the trade movement with other countries, contributing therefore to strengthening international bilateral relations, achieving the aspirations of the citizens and meeting the growing needs of consumers, while seeking to protect the community from unsound trade practices, and to maintain the economic interests of the business sector both locally and abroad.
The FCA stated that it adopts several initiatives aiming at achieving growth in the State's foreign non-oil trade and facilitating trade, particularly developing customs procedures and policies, developing the electronic systems, reducing the customs clearance time, managing the customs clearance, providing statistical data and information, addressing the trade obstacles, conducting international studies about global best practices, providing customs training, and enhancing the competitiveness indicators in the customs' work.
With regard to the UAE's trading partners map in the field of direct foreign trade, the FCA noted in its press statement that the regional structure of the trading partners of the UAE in the field of non-oil trade was stable in terms of countries' quotas, where Asia, Australia and the Pacific region maintained their position on the top of the list of the UAE's non-oil trading partners with 42% of the total non-oil trade value, followed by the European region with 27%, the MENA region with 15%, America and the Caribbean with 9%, Central Africa with 4%, and finally East and South Africa with 3%.
Concerning imports at the regional level, the statistics showed that 42% of the UAE imports during the first half of 2014 came from Asia, Australia and the Pacific region, amounting to AED141.9 billion, followed by the European Region with 29% and a value of AED96.9 billion, America and the Caribbean region with 13% and a value of AED44.3 billion, the MENA region with 8% and a value of AED27.1 billion, the West and Central Africa region with 4% and a value of AED15 billion and finally the East and South Africa region with 3% and a value of AED9.3 billion of the total imports.
