The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance (August 2012)

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

Summary

DE has set its strategy to achieve its KPIs and fulfill stakeholders needs.
DE measures its performance by monitoring export at macro level, conducting stakeholders
annual surveys and in the short term log the transactions concluded by exporters that were
achieved with DE assistance.
During 2008-2011 Dubai Exports focused its major activities of exhibitions ,missions and other
export services on 10 partner countries selected to cover GCC ,Europe, Africa ,Asia and Australia
In August 2012 Dubai Exports carried out a comprehensive study to assess the performance of
trade with these partner countries thereby identifying which markets were mostly impacted by
DE activities
Overall the study revealed that exports& re-exports to all partner countries in which DE
organized activities(except Australia) increased at rates between about 3% to 100% p.a. for the
period 2008-2011 with & re-exports to KSA, Indonesia and Germany exhibiting the highest
average annual growth , indicating the importance of these partners and the positive effects
of DE activities
Qatar, South Africa and Saudi Arabia has been the top markets in which the impact of DE
activities on trade flow was significantly felt, resulting in reduced negative trade balance in
favour of UAE .Qatar has been the only country among the trade partners with whom trade
balance with UAE was positive i.e. exports and re-exports exceeded imports by as much as 3.8
Billion AED in 2011
On the dimension of exported products ,the study showed interesting conclusions that
Precious Metals Plastics, Aluminum ,Iron & Steel & Articles ,Copper & articles and Edible Oils
& Fats were the top exports to the trade partners in order of importance and Plastics and Edible
oils were mainly exported to European partners probably because of the need for high quality
food and food plastic packaging , while Precious Metals have more global markets and GCC
market was particularly the important market for Iron & Steel and Copper & articles,
presumably because of the construction boom witnessed in the region.
An important Overall conclusion of the report :DE market and product focuses sustained a
development in market and product diversification of Dubai exports& re-exports
The transaction report for the first six month revealed that total value of business estimated to
be realized on the basis of repeat order exceeds 4 Billion AED
Also it was found that the main markets for which largest numbers of transactions were
concluded were KSA, Qatar, and India.
By value the largest transactions were for KSA and Morocco at 182 Million AED (85%) and 12
Million AED (6%) respectively.
By region: Top transaction values were for GCC 85%, Africa (7%), and Asia (1%)

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

Product-wise, the report showed that about 14 type of transactions were for construction
related products and 9 for food and related products. Activity-wise ,Exhibitions and Exports
Assistance programs were the two main drivers of export success while the majority of the
exporters expressed their satisfaction of the services that DE offer to them and categorically
indicated that DE assistance has actually helped them improve their export performance.
The Needs Assessment survey for 2012 revealed important feedback which are summarized in
the following:
In addition to the traditional lucrative market in GCC, exporters are now looking for new
markets mainly in Africa, Asia and Europe and would like to explore markets as far as North and
South America
Exporters have expressed satisfaction about DE services at around 75% rate for most of the
services
Most important; majority of exporters voiced the needs for buyer information in new markets,
more advocacy support and alerts on rules and regulations among others

1. Strategic Directions
Dubai Exports (DE), an agency of Dubai Economic Dept. was established in 2007 with the mandate to
boost exports from Dubai through product and market diversification. DE has set its strategic plan in line
with Dubai Economic Development Dept. corporate strategy, with the objective to ensure alignment
with clients needs and to achieve set KPI. In this context DE is guided in its operation by the
framework of its Vision: To be a world class export development agency through innovation and its
and its Mission: To empower and diversify Dubai's economic growth by offering pioneering *export
services to businesses
The main objectives of DE stemming from its mandate include, inter-alia, the following:

To increase the value of exports facilitated target rough DE assistance.

To increase the number of companies entering foreign markets via DE assistance.

To increase the number of exporters entering new foreign markets for the first time.

To increase the number of companies improving their business performance as a result of

receiving DE assistance.

To develop and sustain an environment of organizational excellence in its processes and

dealings with all stakeholders

Target Markets and Focus Products

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
Two important elements of DE strategy are target markets and focus products. Both target markets and
focus products have been identified based on research of trade flow and export capability.
13 country markets plus GCC and EU were identified as target markets worldwide while 10 Focus
group of products were identified and divided in two groups :
Group A are those products/industries in which Dubai has good capability and hence more promotion is
required than capacity building .and Group B are those industries/products that are not well established
and do require more of capacity building initiatives than mere export promotion.

Target services were also set with Dubai capability and experiences in mind and are grouped in two
groups: Dubai generated services like high- end BOP, aviation and media services and Dubai Invented
services like e-government platforms.
International partners and overseas offices
To provide optimum services DE works with both local Government and international sister partners
who are in the same field, DE has forged memoranda of understanding (MOU) with renowned trade
promotion organizations like Matrade, Austrade among others who provide a network of mutual
reciprocal cooperative support to DE.
However DE depends on its overseas offices to provide direct services to its clients in the major markets
by providing on-ground assistance in the most effective way. It has established two offices in Saudi
Arabia (which is also responsible for Egypt) and in India. Both these offices were set up after a careful
study of the needs and manned with local consultants who are well versed in local market conditions,
the business community and government regulations
Target markets

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

Focus products

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

International Partners and Overseas offices

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

2. Service Portfolio
DE service portfolio span more than 18 services designed to give high value addition to the exporter and
the buyer as well.

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
3. Performance Evaluation
Macro -Impact on trade flow
Over the years 2008-2011 Dubai Exports focused its major activities of exhibitions ,missions and other
export services on 10 partner countries selected to cover GCC ,Europe, Africa ,Asia and Australia
In August 2012 Dubai Exports carried out a comprehensive study to assess the performance of trade
with these partner countries thereby identifying which markets were mostly impacted by DE activities
The study is based on UAE trade statistics. It is important to draw attention to the fact that In 2011 UAE
exports and re-exports by value was nearly equal to Dubai direct and FZ exports and re-exports,
justifying the use of UAE trade as proxy for Dubai in trade analysis.
Overall the study revealed that exports& re-exports to all partner countries in which DE organized
activities(except Australia) increased at rates between about 3% to 100% p.a. for the period 2008-2011
with KSA, Indonesia and Germany exhibiting the highest average annual growth , indicating the
importance of these partners and the positive effects of DE activities.

INDONE

Spain

South

Australia

Germany

France

Brazil

Total Exports+Re-exports 2011

6

Qatar

12

KSA

89

India
0

50

100
Billions AED

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
-16.4%
Australia
Spain
South Africa
Brazil
India
France
Qatar
Germany
INDONESIA
KSA
-20.0%

0.0%

2.8%
7.9%
14.0%
19.9%
24.2%
26.4%
28.5%
37.2%

Total exports& re-exports growth

2008-2010 p.a

100.9%
20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% 120.0%

Trade Balance in 2011

The study revealed that trade with Germany, India, and France sustained the largest negative trade
balances with UAE in 2011 , while the smallest negative trade balances were with Qatar, South Africa
and Saudi Arabia, respectively. An important conclusion of the study, however , is that Qatar is the
only partner, among target partners, with which the trade balance was positive in favour of UAE i.e.
,exports and re-exports to Qatar exceeded imports from Qatar by as high as 3.8 Billion AED in 2011.

Top Exports from UAE to Partners 2011

On dimension of exported products ,the study showed interesting conclusions: that Precious Metals
Plastics, Aluminum ,Iron & Steel & Articles ,Copper & articles and Edible Oils & Fats were the top
exports to the trade partners in order of importance and Plastics and Edible oils were mainly exported
to European partners probably because of the need for high quality food and food plastic packaging ,
while Precious Metals have more global markets and GCC market was particularly the important market
for Iron & Steel and Copper & articles, presumably because of the construction boom witnessed in the
region.
An important Overall conclusion of the report: DE market and product focuses during 2008-2011
sustained development in market and product diversification of Dubai exports& re-exports

Qatar, South Africa and Saudi Arabia

has been the top markets in which
the impact of DE activities on trade
flow was significantly felt, resulting
in reduced negative trade balance in
favor of UAE .Qatar has been the only
country among the trade partners
with whom trade balance with UAE
was positive i.e. exports and reexports exceeded imports by as much

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

#Partners to
whict top exports
went

Main Markets

Plastics
Precious Metals
Aluminum
Iron & Steel & Articles
Copper & Articles
Edible Oils & Fats

Major Partners markets

Mainly Europe except GCC, Indonesia and Asia
All ,except Far East
Mostly Europe ,Indonesia and Far East, except
Africa & Middle East
GCC, India Except Europe ,Far East , Africa and
Brazil
GCC & India
Europe

Micro level Impact

Success transactions
At the micro level, DE measure the impact of its services on the exporters performance bi-annually
,and utilize the results to assess the direct impact of its activities on export increase based on written
confirmation from the exporters on the transaction achieved through DE assistance, the gathered
information include mainly value ,product and market and which service was the driver of the success.
The transaction report for the first six month revealed that total value of business estimated to be
realized on the basis of repeat order exceeds 4 Billion AED.

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
Overall 68 transactions were concluded during the six month period and those transactions covered
more the 14 countries in addition to GCC and OECD regions , while the largest single transaction was for
plastics and was valued 90 Million AED (estimated to reach 1800 Million AED by repeat orders) . Also it
is found that the main markets for which largest number of transactions was concluded were KSA,
Qatar, and India. By value the largest transactions were for KSA and Morocco at 182 Million AED (85%)
and 12 Million AED (6%) respectively.
By region: Top transaction values were for GCC 85%, Africa (7%), and Asia (1%)
Product-wise, the report showed that about 14 type of transactions were for construction related
products and 9 for food and related products. Activity-wise ,Exhibitions and Exports Assistance
programs were the two main drivers of export success while the majority of the exporters expressed
their satisfaction of the services that DE offer to them and categorically indicated that DE assistance
has actually helped them improve their export performance.

Transactions by product
group
Food &
Packagi
ng
39%

Costruct
ion
related
Product
s
61%

Stakeholders Needs Assessment

DE recognizes the importance of the continuous review of its service portfolio to ensure that it is always
fulfilling the needs of its stakeholders and its strategic targets.
DE uses surveys, and face-to-face interviews to assess the needs of the clients and measure their
satisfaction with the services offered.
The recent client Needs Assessment Survey encompassed 200 companies who completed a
questionnaire in addition to 20 companies who attended face-to-face interviews
The survey revealed important feedbacks which are summarized in the following:

In addition to the traditional lucrative market in GCC, exporters are now looking for new
markets mainly in Africa, Asia and Europe and would like to explore markets as far as North and
South America

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0

Stakholders Needs Survey

current
Export
destination

Exporters have expressed satisfaction of DE services at around 75% rate for most of the services
The survey indicated that participation in exhibitions is most preferred service for the Food
sector companies and Building and Construction sectors, in addition exporters voiced
preference to specific international exhibitions in Europe and India, as also local exhibitions in
Dubai like Big 5
Exhibitions and buyer lead information are among the top demanded services by food
industries, while construction companies mostly prefer participation in trade missions and
exhibitions. Publications are in demand mostly by the plastic industries while Metal industries
mainly rely on buyer lead information and value added non-financial services like matchmaking
Most important; majority of exporters voiced the needs for buyer information in new markets,
more advocacy support and alerts on rules and regulations among others

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

Appendix
Top Exports to Partners

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
Germany
39
71
52
88
76

Plastics
Precious
Metals &
Stones
Cotton
Aircraft
Spare parts
Aluminum

214,263,090
42,640,000
35,038,226
31,708,701
23,194,642

France

69

Edible Oils
Fats
Ceramics

76

Aluminum

35,413,296

39

Plastics

33,423,473

71

Precious
Metals &
Stones

27,886,422

39

Plastics

38,313,674

76

Aluminum

33,905,506

15

576,456,046
75,414,202

Spain

17
15
85

Sugar&
Confectionary
Edible Oils
Fats
Electrical &
Electronic
Equipment

27,197,342
22,555,219
8,448,343

Brazil
89
71
70
25
39

South Africa

Ships &
Boats
Precious
Metals &
Stones
Glass &
Glassware
Stones,
Plasters &
Cement
Plastics

1,658,506,420
108,129,431
45,456,743
41,047,570
35,285,465

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
71
39

Precious
Metals &
Stones
Plastics

161,668,887
120,497,878

70

Glass &
Glassware

42,463,298

48

Paper &
Paperboard

15,105,202

69

Ceramics

13,533,905

Saudi Arabia
71
72

Precious
Metals &
Stones
Iron & Steel

1,439,938,179
646,802,320

74

Copper &
Articles

611,294,213

18

Cocoa &
Preparations

494,887,277

04

Dairy
Products

416,457,593

Qatar
25

71
74
73
85

Stones,
Plasters &
Cement
Precious
Metals &
Stones
Copper &
Articles
Articles of
Iron & Steel
Stones,
Plasters &
Cement

532,655,103

365,297,572
137,317,174
95,636,098
74,823,331

India
71
72
74
39
76

Indonesia

Precious
Metals &
Stones
Iron & Steel
Copper &
Articles
Copper &
Articles
Aluminum

31,633,719,793
992,454,701
943,795,914
716,387,201
469,913,370

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
76
72

Aluminum
Iron & Steel

27

Pulp of
wood and
waste
Mineral
Fuels

08

Edible Fruits
& Nuts

47

69,007,824
55,888,251
42,526,756
17,013,026
16,153,254

Australia
57
70
84
39
73

Carpets &
Floor
Covering
Glass &
Glassware

58,684,302
43,590,434

Machinery

37,331,626

Plastics

31,673,212

Articles of
Iron & Steel

30,090,508

Source: UAE Trade data

Note: Note: It is estimated that most of UAE trade pass through Dubai, statistics show that direct and FZ
exports & re-exports from Dubai in 2011 almost equal to exports and re-exports of UAE in the same
year.

Appendix
Pattern of UAE Trade with Partner Countries 2008-2011

Imports

Non-oil exports

Kg

AED

Kg

Re-exports
AED

Kg

AED

AUSTRALIA

2008

2,203,026,355

12,241,576,397

86,521,246

299,791,474

20,406,786

241,983,997

AUSTRALIA

2009

2,564,504,022

6,365,417,952

63,399,343

228,245,073

12,376,604

275,120,965

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
AUSTRALIA

2010

3,590,110,097

7,499,975,704

65,838,440

275,344,198

12,529,993

279,670,886

AUSTRALIA

2011

4,071,393,270

8,956,786,654

61,467,431

342,911,488

66,458,800

525,059,591

BRAZIL

2007

1,946,413,997

4,736,252,479

4,486,180

31,224,490

3,750,910

111,969,806

BRAZIL

2008

541,785,077

4,295,564,738

5,795,099

44,193,788

4,067,266

61,085,182

BRAZIL

2009

938,058,576

3,750,166,787

7,009,732

83,217,994

7,798,518

173,502,280

BRAZIL

2010

2,041,723,467

4,471,338,739

52,804,671

2,912,212,154

13,951,441

167,094,593

BRAZIL

2011

2,679,003,977

5,773,190,961

103,647,669

1,903,909,733

9,813,440

178,733,257

FRANCE

2008

628,544,608

14,072,264,965

22,450,714

118,590,106

17,310,043

735,281,374

FRANCE

2009

531,628,828

14,027,148,164

34,726,419

184,415,947

9,144,991

698,558,680

FRANCE

2010

499,791,186

12,779,252,928

46,890,503

230,306,128

13,056,399

1,282,052,308

FRANCE

2011

481,873,700

15,982,918,828

157,915,551

824,104,534

7,478,728

959,248,323

GERMANY

2007

859,233,588

26,398,823,560

48,285,846

195,574,285

14,069,061

728,423,917

GERMANY

2008

1,318,623,488

37,098,186,209

49,815,684

265,653,514

28,519,594

1,605,357,203

GERMANY

2009

1,131,823,179

29,997,984,892

85,152,023

334,640,851

11,760,439

698,506,804

GERMANY

2010

1,134,023,083

29,679,480,748

51,721,372

393,538,211

11,156,296

775,285,349

GERMANY

2011

859,172,902

30,656,091,936

74,160,888

519,421,231

9,759,123

1,012,654,122

INDIA

2008

6,859,092,842

61,968,590,564

1,717,563,250

############

567,828,847

###########

INDIA

2009

4,572,037,921

61,564,824,441

1,405,531,673

############

451,272,534

###########

INDIA

2010

3,742,883,629

83,187,391,613

1,654,509,333

############

456,058,367

###########

INDIA

2011

4,032,082,968

105,132,176,612

2,284,578,155

############

377,188,022

###########

INDONESIA

2007

1,207,024,436

5,699,626,878

126,025,444

191,394,030

7,610,716

61,894,050

INDONESIA

2008

818,039,479

6,254,510,509

109,427,504

177,586,196

59,771,854

466,274,742

INDONESIA

2009

820,055,915

4,914,241,216

75,917,196

106,084,814

9,525,621

64,409,489

INDONESIA

2010

465,160,117

4,579,908,345

128,929,677

217,310,628

8,089,766

82,904,032

INDONESIA

2011

518,349,873

5,190,481,067

144,703,780

237,315,280

8,679,128

124,499,896

QATAR

2007

487,011,089

1,433,780,713

17,997,251,433

2,525,447,053

312,535,794

3,104,835,584

QATAR

2008

356,914,735

1,700,578,437

20,427,964,713

7,718,539,067

357,123,417

3,481,782,464

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)
QATAR

2009

692,365,690

1,614,858,003

11,491,916,174

4,897,410,577

239,859,221

4,934,737,381

QATAR

2010

767,025,290

2,088,978,682

8,584,859,359

1,817,917,385

245,416,270

4,704,835,333

QATAR

2011

578,718,958

1,946,610,604

10,159,230,884

1,870,594,632

312,448,533

3,877,616,631

SAUDI
ARABIA

2007

3,572,032,555

12,880,560,473

1,873,820,111

1,913,752,577

332,438,358

4,167,957,885

SAUDI
ARABIA

2008

3,687,196,511

16,144,559,097

309,446,659

2,170,262,789

335,125,128

3,271,958,271

SAUDI
ARABIA

2009

3,182,797,525

12,179,265,734

241,013,999

3,006,950,384

355,225,910

6,265,938,216

SAUDI
ARABIA

2010

2,942,257,034

11,969,870,582

402,970,820

3,743,524,689

389,167,543

5,414,938,960

SAUDI
ARABIA

2011

3,544,322,867

15,048,260,659

641,349,029

5,660,426,785

397,444,387

5,984,821,138

SOUTH
AFRICA

2007

980,403,551

4,835,204,589

89,632,766

263,428,187

13,247,098

355,830,205

SOUTH
AFRICA

2008

964,502,044

12,531,472,879

74,196,035

395,742,550

14,151,988

1,012,585,749

SOUTH
AFRICA

2009

836,495,337

2,477,777,240

53,141,975

368,125,287

21,313,590

380,453,722

SOUTH
AFRICA

2010

1,394,482,973

3,304,667,348

83,937,260

339,581,723

15,856,391

283,271,393

SOUTH
AFRICA

2011

989,584,430

3,519,431,031

77,934,499

447,089,052

17,956,192

366,183,361

SPAIN

2007

724,561,365

4,100,649,096

17,634,927

83,594,175

6,479,350

175,913,422

SPAIN

2008

806,170,959

4,962,215,444

14,993,557

70,625,033

11,934,655

258,415,204

SPAIN

2009

810,423,087

3,895,724,532

22,023,917

112,959,642

3,549,601

100,688,929

SPAIN

2010

779,020,128

3,875,008,562

18,438,041

103,541,118

4,692,774

166,871,184

SPAIN

2011

1,100,236,075

5,194,871,396

29,459,413

155,928,629

9,211,450

395,787,411

Source: UAE Trade data

Note: It is estimated that most of UAE trade pass through Dubai, statistics show that direct and FZ
exports & re-exports from Dubai in 2011 almost equal to exports and re-exports of UAE in the same
year.

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)

The Impact of Dubai Exports Activities on Export Performance

(August 2012)