Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai's non-oil external trade amounted to around AED 323 billion during the first quarter of 2020, according to Dubai media office.
Exports increased by 2% to AED 43 billion during the first three months of 2020, when compared to the same period of 2019.
Meanwhile, imports and re-exports totalled AED189 billion and AED92 billion, each.
The volume of Dubai's non-oil trade amounted to 24 million tonnes, with 16 million tonnes in imports, 4.2 million tonnes in exports, and 3.6 million tonnes in re-exports.
Dubai witnessed AED 188 billion direct trade, AED 133 billion trade out of free zones, and AED 2 billion customs warehouse trade during January-March 2020.
At the same time, land, sea, and air trade accounted for AED 4 billion, AED 116 billion, AED 163 billion, respectively.
China topped Dubai’s largest trading partners, with AED 35.8 billion, followed by India with AED 30.4 billion, and the US with AED19.5 billion.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, explained: "Though the [coronavirus] pandemic has impacted markets around the world, Dubai’s external trade has been able to maintain its momentum thanks to the diversity of its markets and its ability to adapt to global changes, trends, and needs."
Meanwhile, DP World Group Chairman and the CEO and Chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, Sultan bin Sulayem, said: "Dubai’s strong customs structure helped achieve a 60% increase in customs transactions despite the challenging global environment, growing from 2.5 million transactions in Q1 2019 to 4 million transactions this year."
