Iran-UAE Trade at $9.7 Billion in 9 Months

The volume of non-oil trade between Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached $9.7 billion during the first three quarters of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, 2013. (albawaba, 6 January)

According to the latest data released by the Iranian Customs Administration, Iran imported $7 billion worth of non-oil products from the UAE, while exporting $2.7 billion to the Emirates during the nine-month period. UAE was Iran’s second largest trading partner after China.

File photo, port traffic at Dubai: Arabian News

Dubai Trade Volume Sets Record High

Despite Plunge in Trade with Iran

Dubai's non-oil trade jumped 16 percent in the first quarter of 2013 despite a plunge in trade with Iran, the director of Dubai customs announced today. Non-oil trade grew to $88.6 billion in the first quarter, on pace for a record year of non-oil revenues at more than $350 billion.

“Up to this quarter, we reached an approximately 16 percent growth in trade," Ahmed Butti Ahmed, director general of Dubai Customs, told Reuters in an interview. (Reuters, 14 May)

Dubai’s trade with Iran dropped by 31 percent in 2012 due to international sanctions, and continued its plunge during the first quarter of 2013.

“The embargo on one side, the other side is that the Iranian currency became very (weak) so it has become a little bit more expensive for them,” Ahmed said.

Photo credit: Dubai skyline at night (slickzine.com)

Iran to Trade in Local Currencies and Gold - CBI

Governor of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) Mahmoud Bahmani said in Tehran today that the country could trade in currencies other than the US dollar in its foreign transactions.

“Iran does not just work with the dollar in trade transactions and every country can pay in its own currency,” Bahmani said [IRNA, 28 February].

Bahmani said Iran imports commodities from China and India in exchange for the countries’ currencies and it could also receive gold in its transactions instead of currency transfers.

Iran is trying to find ways to bypass the upcoming comprehensive sanctions against the CBI, expected to go into effect on July 1st.