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29 March 2024

UAE has 51 customs outlets

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By Staff

The UAE is served by 51 customs outlets through which all its commercial activity and traffic movement are handled, making it one of the largest business hubs in the region, officials said on Sunday.

Dubai has the largest number of land, air and sea outlets, standing at 16, followed by Abu Dhabi which has 12, the officials from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development said during a symposium.

Customs outlets stood at 10 in Sharjah, eight in Ras Al Khaimah, three in Fujeirah and one each in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain.

Their figures showed Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are the main trade centres in the country, accounting for nearly 98 per cent of its commercial activity.

ADDED’s data showed Abu Dhabi’s imports totalled around Dh62.7 billion in the first nine months of 2010 while non-oil exports stood at Dh8.68bn and re-exports at nearly Dh7.9bn.

According to the International Monetary Fund, the UAE became the largest commercial hub in the Arab world in 2009 despite a sharp decline in its imports because of the business downturn in the aftermath of the global fiscal crisis.

Its total trade of goods and services hit an all time high of around $389.8 billion in 2009 while Saudi Arabia’s exchange stood at nearly $366.1bn.

The IMF figures showed the UAE’s imports of goods and services stood at around $187.5bn in 2009, nearly 20 per cent of the total trade of $909bn in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

Its exports were estimated $202.3bn, slightly lower than Saudi Arabia’s exports of about $202.5bn. But the UAE’s imports far exceeded those of the Kingdom’s $163.6bn, the figures showed.