UAE Re-Exports to Iran Drop

Re-exports to Iran from the UAE dropped by nearly a third in the first half of 2012, the country’s foreign trade ministry announced.

“The international sanctions on Iran have had a great impact on the size of trade and was the main reason behind the drop recorded,” said Abdulla Al Saleh, the UAE undersecretary for foreign trade. (Gulf News, 26 December)

UAE’s re-exports to Iran fell to $3.6 billion in the first half of 2012, down 32 per cent from the same period of 2011. The UAE remains one of Iran’s largest Middle East trading partners, mainly due to the re-export trade, sending everything from tractors to television sets across the Persian Gulf to the southern port of Bandar Abbas.

File photo: UAE dhows loaded with cargo destined for Iran at Dubai Creek.