UAE's foreign trade up 22% in Jan-Oct

UAE non-oil foreign trade in the first 10 months of 2011 surged to AED759.8bn ($206.8bn), an increase of 22 percent, according to official figures released by the Federal Customs Authority (FCA). Trade volumes between January to October rose by AED137.3bn compared to the same period in 2010, the FCA said in a statement. Data on import growth revealed a 24 percent increase, growing to AED493.8bn in the first 10 months of last year. Exports saw a growth rate of 34 percent during the period, increasing to AED93.9bn while re-exports grew by 12 percent to total AED172.1bn. Latest figures showed that for October alone, trade rose to AED83.5bn compared to AED66.4bn for the same month in 2010, an increase of 26 percent. According to the FCA, India, USA, China, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Switzerland, and South Korea topped the exporters' list in October. India, Iran, Singapore, Turkey, Thailand, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, and Qatar were the top importers, it added. Saudi Arabia maintained its top ranking among GCC region's trading partners with a total value of AED2.3bn in October, followed by Kuwait. Gold, according to the FCA, was the top products for exports in October, followed by petroleum oils and other derivatives, ethylene polymers and jewellery.