Arab uprisings have limited impact on UAE foreign trade in 1Q2011

Ahram Online, Thursday 18 Aug 2011

Traditionally small contribution of affected Arab nations, around 2 per cent of the total, means overall loss in trade was minor

Gulf cargo
Gulf cargo: still shipping after all these fears (Photo: AFP)
Political upheaval in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Syria and Yemen had a limited impact on UAE's foreign trade during the first quarter of 2011, according to a report from the Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Trade cited by state news agency WAM.
 
The traditionally small contribution of the affected Arab nations to aggregate UAE foreign trade -- less than 2 per cent in 2010 -- meant overall loss in trade was minor, said the report.
 
Combined total foreign trade with the five countries amounted to AED14.4 billion (US$3.92 billion) in 2010: AED7.86 billion in imports, AED2.7 billion in re-exports and AED3.78 billion in exports.
 
This represented year-on-year growth of 1 per cent, versus overall 14 per cent growth for total foreign trade.
 
Libya topped the list of the countries most affected in 1Q2011, with trade slowing down 74 per cent. Egyptian trade fell just 7 per cent; Tunisia 10 per cent; Yemen 8 per cent; and Syria 2 per cent.
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