Dubai Airport Freezone Authority says it contributed 12% of Dubai's foreign trade in the first nine months of 2019
Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) on Wednesday announced that it contributed 12 percent of Dubai's AED1.02 trillion ($272 billion) foreign trade in the first nine months of 2019.
DAFZA said it achieved a growth of 11.2 percent in the total value of foreign trade to reach AED120 billion ($32.6 billion), in addition to an 11.8 percent growth in re-exports, valued at AED68 billion and accounted for 21.7 percent from the total re-exports in the emirate of Dubai.
DAFZA added that its operations during the first nine months of 2019 helped achieve a large trade surplus of AED16.2 billion.
Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni, director general of DAFZA, said: “Today, DAFZA is a key contributor to Dubai’s economy, attracting foreign direct investments from all over the world. Despite economic conditions and global uncertainties, the results achieved across a range of KPIs reflect the increasing global trade volumes coming through the free zone towards international markets.
“DAFZA has become a strategic partner to foreign investors who benefit from our world-class services and advantages that facilitate ease of business... We will continue to focus on providing flexible services to international organizations and SMEs, located in the free zone,” Al Zarooni added.
India accounted for the highest percentage of DAFZA's trade with 18.7 percent at AED22.4 billion, followed by Switzerland with 17 percent at AED20.2 billion, then China with 15.5 percent at AED18.6 billion.
In terms of exports and imports, India ranked first in imports and accounted for 42.5 percent, valued at AED22 billion, followed by China with 36 percent at AED18.5 billion, while Switzerland topped the list of countries in terms of re-exports from DAFZA with 28 percent, valued at AED19 billion.
In terms of goods, machinery and electrical equipment ranked first with 57 percent of the total re-export value of AED39 billion and 49 percent of total imports accounted at AED25.2 billion.
Pearls, semi-precious stones and metals made up 35 percent of the total re-export value of AED24.1 billion and 43 percent in terms of total imports worth AED22.5 billion. Both sectors represent 92 percent of DAFZA’s total trade.
The free zone said it achieved a trade surplus across all sectors in the first nine months of 2019, with the machinery and electrical equipment being the major driver to the imports and exports growth, with 13 percent at AED7.4 billion.
