Non-oil UAE trade hits in first 5 months

UAE non-oil foreign trade continued growth for the first five months of 2011 compared to the same period last year. Preliminary statistics from the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) show that UAE non-oil foreign trade for the period grew 24 per cent compared to the same period of last year. Total non-oil foreign trade increased from Dh299.2 billion during the first five months of 2010 to Dh370.3 billion in the same period of 2011, an increase of Dh71 billion. In a press release issued yesterday, FCA said that preliminary statistics for the first five months of 2011 show a 22 per cent growth in imports from Dh195 billion in the first five months of 2010 to Dh237.4 billion in the same period in 2011. On the other hand, exports experienced an astounding 41 per cent growth for the same period ,from Dh31 billion to Dh43.5 billion. Re-exports experienced a growth rate of 22 per cent from Dh73.3 billion to Dh89.4 billion in the same period. According to FCA, growth rates in non-oil foreign trade for the first five months of 2011 confirm the national economy's course of recovery and restoration of the growth rates to those before the world financial crisis.