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UAE ranks ninth in global creative goods trade; exports touch $16.1b

Dubai - Total value of nation's foreign trade of creative industries at $30.7b

The UAE ranks ninth in the global list of countries in terms of exports and re-exports of creative goods with a value to $16.1 billion.
Creative goods include jewellery, advertising materials, chandeliers, bags and other goods and services where the use of creativity and intellectual capital are key inputs.
The UAE's share of global exports of creative goods is three per cent, according to a study issued by the Department of Industry and Trade Information Analysis at the Ministry of Economy.
In 2015, the global export of creative goods grew to $ 538 billion in 2015, accounting for a 3.3 per cent of the world's total export of merchandise.
The total value of UAE's foreign trade of creative industries, including imports, re-exports and exports was $30.7 billion in 2015, according to the study prepared by economic researcher Ahmed Annaba and supervised by Dr Mattar Ahmad Al Ali.
Among Arab countries, the UAE accounts for more than 75 per cent of the total value of Arab exports of creative goods. According to the World Trade Center, the value of Arab countries' exports for 2015 is estimated to be close to $21 billion.
In 2015, the UAE imported creative goods mostly from India with a share of 17.4 per cent, followed by Malaysia at 12.3 per cent, China 11.5 per cent, France 10 per cent and Italy 8.9 per cent. The top 10 countries account for 79.0 per cent of the UAE's total imports of creative goods.
The World Trade Organization has ranked the UAE as one of the world's top trading economies, ranking 20th globally and first in the Middle East and Africa in commodity exports. The UAE is also placed 19th internationally in commodity imports and led the Mena region in overall commodity trade, with regional exports totalling $265 billion to account for 1.6 per cent of the worldwide total in 2015.
According to the WTO, the UAE had a 31.5 per cent share of the Middle East's total exports in 2015 compared to 28 per cent in 2014, as well as 30.8 per cent of the region's total imports. In terms of service trade, the country ranked 20th globally and first in the Arab World with service imports worth $68 billion, representing 1.9 per cent of the world total and a 1.5 per cent improvement over 2014.
During the first nine months of 2016, the UAE's non-oil foreign trade stood at Dh1.172 trillion, posting almost flat growth compared to Dh1.170 trillion during the same period in 2015.
The share of imports in the UAE's total non-oil trade amounted to Dh721.2 billion, up 1 per cent year-on-year, while exports grew by six per cent to reach Dh149.1 billion, according to data from the Federal Customs Authority.
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com