The country's non-oil foreign trade increased to Dh445 billion in the first half of 2011, up from Dh364.3bn in the same period of the previous year, the latest figures released by the Federal Customs Authority (FCA) showed.
FCA's data on imports showed a 20 per cent growth from Dh236.5bn in 2010 to Dh285bn in 2011 for same period.
An FCA press release said exports shot up 44 per cent during the period from Dh36bn to Dh54.7bn.
Re-exports grew 17 per cent from Dh89.8bn to Dh105.3bn in the same period.
The UAE’s total foreign trade in June 2011 totalled Dh74.7bn compared to Dh65.1bn in the same month of the previous year, an increase of 15 per cent. Imports in June 2011 reached Dh47.5bn, an increase of 14 per cent year-on-year. Exports touched Dh11.3bn, an increase of 61 per cent year-on-year. Re-exports recorded a year-on-year decrease of 4 per cent to Dh15.9bn.
By volume, the UAE’s total foreign trade in the first two quarters of 2011 was 41.3 million tons, of which 25.8mt was imports, 11.1mt exports and 4.3mt re-exports.