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The UAE's share in global trade rose by $41 billion (Dh150.4bn) to
$275bn in 2007 compared to $234bn in the previous year, placing the
nation in the global top 30, according to the World Trade
Organisation's (WTO) latest report on global trade.
In spite
of record high oil prices that increased value, the country was ranked
24th in 2007 among global exporters, compared to the previous year's
22nd.
Its share of global exports reduced marginally from 1.2 to 1.1 per cent, accounting for $154bn.
Imports
swelled to $121bn from $95bn, increasing global share by one percentage
point to 0.9 per cent, but taking the UAE's ranking down to 28th from
27th. The country's share in commercial services reached $28bn, making
up 0.8 per cent of the global share.
The UAE ranked higher than Thailand, India, Australia and Norway among the exporters.
But Austria and Brazil surpassed the UAE among exporters in last year's ranking, notching up 22nd and 23rd places respectively.
In
the Middle East, economic expansion showed no signs of deceleration in
2007, contrary to the global growth, which decelerated to 5.5 per cent
last year against 8.5 per cent in the previous year.
The WTO
report said the Middle East's merchandise exports are estimated to have
grown by 10 per cent to $721bn in 2007, roughly in line with the
increase in crude oil prices.
The region's merchandise imports
are estimated to have increased by 23 per cent to $462bn last year.
Imports of Saudi Arabia and Qatar increased by about one-third, while
those of Iran and Yemen rose at rates well below the average.
Last
year, the top 10 global exporting countries were Germany, China, the
US, Japan, France, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Belgium
and Canada; while the top importing countries were the US, Germany,
China, Japan, the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and
Canada.
The ranking of Saudi Arabia, the region's largest
economy, among exporters dropped to 18th last year against 17th in the
previous year. But its exports in 2007 swelled by $20bn, or eight per
cent, to $229bn, making up 1.8 per cent share of the global exports
compared to 1.7 per cent in 2006.
It failed to qualify among the global top 30 importers.
However,
the report warned that global growth could further slow down this year
to about 4.5 per cent because sharp decline in economic growth of major
developed countries is only partly offset by the strong growth in
emerging economies of the world.
"The financial market
turbulence, which has reduced economic growth projects for some major
developed markets, has clouded the prospects for world trade in 2008,"
the report said. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said: "These are
uncertain and troubling times for the global economy."
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