Dubai exports, re-exports hit new heights in 2011

The value of Dubai's exports and re-exports reached AED246bn ($66.9bn) in 2011, higher than the previous peak of AED213bn in 2008, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry said on Monday.

The figures "proved that the trade sector is once again the frontrunner of Dubai’s economic growth", Hamad Buamim, director general, Dubai Chamber, said in a statement.

The total value of 2011 exports and re-exports was 14.5 percent higher than the previous year.

May 2011 was the best performing month of last year with AED22.1bn while the figures in February were the lowest with AED17.6bn.

The number of certificates of origin issued totalling 698,067 last year, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to 2010, the chamber added.

Buamim said that despite the global uncertainty in light of the European debt crisis and a weak US economy and instability in the region, Dubai’s economy was back on track.

”The annual report clearly demonstrates the resilience of Dubai’s traders in turning the tide in their favour thanks to the lessons learnt from the global financial crisis."

He added that Dubai’s business community had explored new markets and export destinations in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America in 2011.

He said that despite the political unrest across the Middle East and North Africa region, Dubai continued to be a "safe and stable place to do business".

"The city... continues to offer a solid platform for international investors to do business here and work towards their own as well as the emirate’s economic growth in the coming years," he added.