Higher oil prices have lifted trade volumes between the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and foreign countries, the Emirates Chamber of Commerce said in a recent report.
UAE exports in 1999 were in 99 billion dirhams, (less then $30 billion), the report said. Most of that trade was with Gulf countries and neighbors like Iran, Pakistan, and Iraq. Non-petroleum exports in 1999 were 10.3 billion dirhams ($3 billion), an increase from 2.9 million dirhams ($790,000) in 1988.
Major non-petroleum exports are clothes, aluminum, and canned foods. Although oil remains the main UAE export, improvements in local production and the appearance of new products for export have brought petroleum exports down by 5.2. The UAE is a main petroleum-producing nation and a founding member of OPEC. The UAE produces 4.2 million barrels of petroleum a day. – (Albawaba-MEBG)
