• Home
• /
• Local business

UAE dominates world dates trade

DUBAI - The UAE owns a third of the world’s trade of dates, ranking first in exports, and second in imports in 2009, according to a study conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade on the domestic and international trade of dates.

The study estimates that there are around 40 different kinds of dates being produced in the UAE today. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, global date production in 2008 was 7.1 million tonnes, out of which three million tonnes were produced by the world’s top 20 date producing nations. Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia were the top three global producers, while the UAE came in fourth with a total production of 755 thousand tonnes, or 11 per cent of global production.

As part of a series of extensive studies that aim at assisting in the UAE’s policy and decision making process, the Ministry of Foreign Trade issued an analytical study prepared by Dr Abdel Hamid Radwan, under the supervision of Dr Mattar Awad, the Director of the Ministry’s Trade Analysis and Information Department.

The study point out that the UAE owns 33 per cent of the world’s exports of dates, Iraq came in second at 22 per cent. Both countries combined where thus the owners of more than half of the global exports of dates. As for imports, UAE imports of dates constituted 31.5 per cent of the global share, second only to India, which possessed a slightly larger share of 31.6 per cent.

The study also revealed that the overall global exports of dates in 2009, estimated at 807 thousand tonnes, had witnessed an 18 per cent decrease in comparison to the year 2008.

Through analysing the UAE’s data on foreign trade in dates for the first 10 months of 2010, the study revealed that there has been a 16 per cent decline in the value, and a 32 per cent decrease in the volume of traded dates in comparison with the same period in 2009. This occurred due to a simultaneous decline in exports, re-exports and imports during that period.

However, the UAE’s top global ranking in the trade of this global agricultural product is clear testament to the UAE’s continued prominence in Foreign Trade, especially that the country spearheads the trade of numerous international commodities due to its pivotal role in the flow and movement of international trade between the world’s areas of production and consumption.

Exports

The UAE exported a total of 266 thousand tonnes of dates in 2009, registering a 12 per cent increase of 28 thousand tonnes from 2008. Simultaneously, the value of these exports also increased by nine per cent from $69 million in 2008 to $75 million in 2009.

Exports of this commodity has achieved growth at a time when global exports had witnessed a decline. India is considered the largest importer of UAE dates, importing around 193 thousand tonnes (73 per cent of all UAE date exports) followed by Bangladesh, which imported 32 thousand tonnes (12 per cent of the UAE’s date exports) 
in 2009.

Moreover, further analysis of available data also revealed that the average price/tonne of exported UAE dates was $300, which is close to the price of Iraqi and Pakistani dates exported to India, at $301/tonne and 
$350/tonne respectively.

The UAE imported 286 thousand tonnes of dates in 2009, up by 26 per cent from 2008. It also registered a 48 per cent increase in the value of its date imports. Iraq, at 84 per cent, and Iran, at 11 per cent, were the primary sources of the UAE’s imports of dates.

The study revealed that the total amount of domestic date consumption was 745 thousand tonnes, 94 per cent of which was domestically produced, with the remaining six per cent imported, while 81 per cent of what was imported was re-exported while only seven per cent of the domestically produced dates were exported, which is considered a low percentage.

Also noted was the fact that the local consumption of dates is 14 times higher than what is being exported. This underlines the importance of supporting and encouraging the production of dates for export purposes.

Tapping European market

The study also revealed that although the UAE’s exports of dates to Europe are currently low, the EU market is promising due to the fact that the average price/tonne of dates imported into Europe is $2800. Countries like France, UK and Germany have been identified as the top European importers of dates, which they currently import from countries such as Tunisia, Iran and Pakistan.

business@khaleejtimes.com