By NNN-Bernama,
Dubai : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the second largest trading nation in the Arab world in 2007, having chalked up US$275.1 billion (US$1=RM3.39) in total trade, a business daily reported.
Saudi Arabia was crowned the top trading Arab country with a total exchange of US$322.7 billion last year, while Algeria came in third with about US$84 billion, followed by Kuwait (US$82.8 billion), Iraq (US$65.4 billion) and Libya (US$65.2 billion), said Emirates Business 24/7, citing data from the Abu Dhabi-based Arab Monetary Fund and the Inter-Arab Investment Guarantee Corporation in Kuwait.
It said UAE’s exchange last year grew by nearly 15 per cent compared with its 2006 trade of about US$239 billion.
The growth was attributed to several factors — an increase in crude oil and gas exports, higher non-oil exports by free zones and other areas, and a sharp rise in imports as a result of strong domestic demand and a steady increase in re-exports.
The daily said the UAE was the top importer in the Arab world, with imports valued at US$121.1 billion in 2007, accounting for 25 percent of the total Arab imports of US$486 billion.
The bulk of UAE’s exports came from oil sales, it said, with those sales climbing to a record US$80 billion in 2007 compared with only $12 billion in 1998.
Figures revealed that the UAE recorded a trade surplus of US$32.9 billion last year despite a surge in its imports because of a rapid growth in its economy, said Emirates Business.