It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Dubai is one of the most important trade hubs of the Middle East region and no one can deny people’s love for vehicles here. This was proved at Automechanika Dubai 2018 where Dubai Customs released trade figures for auto parts and accessories amounted to AED 39.9 billion in 2017, which is a 3 percent amelioration from 2016’s figure of AED 38.7 billion.
Out of these stats, the import bill is valued at AED 22.35 billion while exports accounted for AED 17.45 billion. Furthermore, if we consider the trade volume perspective, 22.5 million tons of auto parts including batteries, engine parts, and tires were traded in 2017, which is an 8.3% increase from 2016.
Dubai’s Customs department also told us that the major import partners for 2017 were Japan, Germany, South Korea, USA, and China, with Japan having the largest share AED (5.63 billion). Whereas, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, and Oman were the major export markets, with Saudi Arab getting the lion’s share of AED 2 billion.
Ahmed Mahboob Musabih, the Director of Dubai Customs, said: “Growth in this type of trade is a success to the emirate’s overall external trade. We support and sustain this growth following the wise directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai who always encourages economic diversification. In order to do this, we continually develop our services and customs facilitations to attract investments and help investors maximize their profits”.
Dubai has been able to boast this success owing to its advancements in the transport and infrastructure industry. The city has exemplary sea ports, airports and duty-free zones to further facilitate trade.
Automechanika Dubai 2018, is the region’s largest trade show for aftermarket auto-parts and the services sector with participants from 61 countries.