10.49 AM Tuesday, 19 March 2024
  • City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
  • Dubai 05:07 06:20 12:29 15:54 18:33 19:47
19 March 2024

UAE ranks 16th globally in exports: WTO

In imports, UAE ranks 19th and is the most important market for merchandise imports in Mena. (Reuters)

Published
By Wam

The UAE has retained its high ranking among the world's top 16 exporter nations, according to the World Trade Organisation's Report on International Trade Trends.

The report, released recently in Geneva, shows that UAE ranks16th among global exporters and is the number one market for merchandise exports in the Mena region.

In imports, UAE ranks 19th and is the most important market for merchandise imports in Mena.

The WTO report says UAE merchandise exports reached $359 billion, which is 1.9 per cent of the total world exports. UAE imports grew by 4 per cent and it accounted for 1.4 per cent of the total world exports.

Regionally, UAE accounts for 28 per cent of the Middle East merchandise exports and 33 per cent of imports during 2014.

According to the report, UAE ranks 19th among global importers of services.

The total value services imports to UAE is $72 billion, which constitutes 1.5 per cent of the total global imports of services.

However, this rank goes up to 13 when EU is considered as a single bloc.

The UAE exports of services increased to $ 17 billion, ranking 25 globally, if EU is considered a bloc.

Economy Minister Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri said: "UAE has become a major player in international trade. Our country bolstered its position in global trade scene and we expect it will continue to do so for the coming years.

“The trade policy of the UAE, advanced infrastructure, strategic location and legislative environment are all factors contributing to the continuous growth of our trade sector.

“During the past few year, enormous efforts were exerted to increase the level of competitiveness of the UAE and increase the opportunities of growth and development in all sectors, including trade."

The report showed that global trade saw modest growth by 2.4 per cent during 2014 and projected growth to reach 3.3 during 2015 and 4 per cent during 2016.

The reports states that many risks and challenges affected the growth of global trade including geopolitical tensions, monetary policies, exchange rates fluctuations, slowdown of growth in emerging economies and decrease in oil prices.

The reports says that abolishing protective measure, easing access to markets and reforming global trade rule can boost international trade.

2014 saw growth in developing countries exports with 3.3 per cent increase, a bigger growth than that of developed countries, which was 2.2 per cent.

Developing countries imports grew by 2 per cent while developed countries imports grew by 3.2 per cent .

The reports projects developing countries imports to increase by 3.7 per cent and 5 per cent in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Developing countries exports are expected to grow by 3.6 per cent in 2015 and 4.1 per cent in 2016. 

The merchandise exports of the Middle East region dropped by 4 per cent during 2014 compared to 2013 while imports increased by 1 per cent for the same period. The services exports from the region increased by 6 per cent in 2014 compared to 2013 while services imports grew by 9 per cent. UAE’s share of the region’s services imports stand at 27 per cent while it accounts for 14 per cent of the total services exports of the region.