Dubai foreign trade jumps 22 percent in 2011, Iran up

Dubai's foreign trade jumped by a record 22 percent in 2011 driven by strong flows with Asia that offset the impact of international sanctions against Iran, the emirate's traditional trade partner, data from the Dubai Customs showed on Wednesday.
The United Arab Emirates member saw its foreign trade volume rising to a record 1.1 trillion dirhams ($300 billion).
The figure includes direct, free zone and warehouse trade in the Gulf Arab business hub, which has been gradually recovering from the impact of the 2008-2009 debt crisis.
Dubai Customs Executive Chairman Ahmed Butti Ahmed said the emirate has benefited from market openness and its modern infrastructure, adding strong trade growth was expected to continue this year.
"The (forecast) increase of 20 percent is based on what we achieved in the first quarter of 2012 that's where we came up with that figure. Demand from different countries is increasing, population is increasing, needs are increasing, it's natural," he told reporters after releasing the 2011 numbers.
Dubai's direct trade, which makes up 64 percent of the total, soared by 22 percent to 700 billion dirhams in 2011.
Direct imports rose 21 percent to 442 billion dirhams, exports jumped 44 percent to 98 billion, while re-exports grew 18 percent to 161 billion, the data showed. Some 6,000 containers on average leave Dubai's ports every day.
Re-exports show goods imported to Dubai and then exported to another destination. They also reflect the diversion of trade from elsewhere in response to sanctions on Iran, something the US has increasingly sought to restrict.
Dubai's direct re-exports to Iran grew 29 percent to 31 billion dirhams last year, the fastest growth rate over the past five years, although figures show a marked slowdown in the last three months of 2011, according to Reuters calculation.
The emirate's total direct trade with the Islamic Republic stood at 36 billion dirhams in 2011, customs said, adding the increase in trade was due to high global gold prices as the metal accounts for a large proportion of the trade.
Dubai, which accounts for nearly a third of the UAE's GDP, is aiming for economic growth of 4.5 percent this year, up from an estimated expansion of more than 3 percent in 2011, the emirate's top official said in February.