Dubai on track to grow trade by 15%

Dubai is on track to achieve 15 per cent growth in exports and re-exports this year despite adverse impacts of Iranian sanctions. Any slowdown in Dubai-Iran trade can be offset by its increasing links with Asian and North African markets, senior officials said.

India and China alone make up a fifth of Dubai’s trade business, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director-General Hamad Buamim said, noting that the economic shift from West to East is benefiting the emirate.

“Dubai is fortunate that it has established business links with India and China, which comprise 19 per cent and 12 per cent of total trade,“ he said. “We are in a good position to take advantage of the shift of new power especially China because Dubai can offer itself as a gateway to Africa.”

“The trade volume of our members is 15 per cent up and this is what we have projected since the beginning of the year. Up until October this is still the case so we are on track to end this year with at least 15 per cent growth,” Buamim added.

Dubai Chamber data shows that its members’ total exports and re-exports in the first two quarters of 2010 stood at Dhs103.2bn, 14 per cent higher compared to the same period last year.

According to the chamber, the UAE remains the major 30 merchandise exporters and importers globally in 2008 and 2009. Despite a 25 per cent decrease in shipments to $175bn in 2009, the country maintained its 2008 rank as the 19th merchandise exporter globally in 2009, and also maintained its share in world exports of 1.4 per cent in 2008 and 2009. Dubai, which contributes three-fourths of the UAE’s non-oil exports, helped achieve this resilience.

Overall, Sami Dhaen Al Qamzi, director general of Department of Economic Development, says the emirate’s economy will see healthy single digit-growth as Dubai focuses on real drivers of economy.

“We forecast around 1.5 per cent growth earlier but reports show it’s more than that. What we’re focusing on now are trade, retail, aviation, services and logistics. These sectors will lead the growth in the future,” Al Qamzi said.

Despite the US and UN sanctions on Iran, Buamim said the emirate will continue to see double-digit growth in terms of trade. “Even with the impact, we will still have 15 per cent growth because we opened to a lot of markets and these markets start to grow like Iran and African market.”

Industry estimates show that US curbs on Iran trade has hurt hit Dubai’s exports. Dubai-Iran trade fell from $10bn in 2008 to $8bn last year. Dubai-based Gulf Research Centre said after China (14.3 per cent) and Germany (9.7 per cent), the UAE is the third largest exporter to Iran, with a share of 9.2 per cent of total exports to Iran.

In addition, the UAE in recent years has emerged as Iran's window to the world, serving as a re-export center for many types of machinery and spare parts that Iran needs. Industry estimates show that up to 300,000 Iranians live in the UAE and Iranians own 15 per cent of the Dubai real estate market.

Al Qamzi said: “The UAE as a country will be compliant with the UN resolution. We cannot violate this regulation but we are going to go through the negotiation with the federal government and find ways to reduce the impact of our trade with Iran.”