Suriname was Dubai’s biggest non-oil Caribbean trade partner in 2017
The value of non-oil trade between Dubai and Caribbean countries totaled $273 million in 2017, according to new analysis released by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry ahead of the first UAECaribbean Cooperation Forum in Dubai.
The trade volume was dominated by imports from the region which were valued at $183 million in 2017, while $90 million worth of exports contributed 33 percent to Dubai’s trade with the region.
The UAECaribbean Cooperation Forum, taking place on November 24th-26th 2018, is co-organized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Economy and the UAE Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development. The three-day event will bring together more than 100 government and business leaders from the UAE and Caribbean countries and shed light on lucrative investment opportunities in the Caribbean region. Placing a focus on trade, investments, development and cultural exchange, the high-level forum will examine bilateral opportunities available across the entire Caribbean region, and explore business potential in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and Haiti. The analysis revealed that Suriname was Dubai’s top trading partner in the Caribbean in 2017, with bilateral non-oil trade valued at $113.8 million, accounting for 42 percent of the emirate’s trade with the region. Guyana was ranked second as the country’s non-oil trade with Dubai amounted to $52.1 million, or 19 percent of the emirate’s trade with the region. Dominican Republic and Trinidad & Tobago were named as the third and fourth largest trading partners to Dubai within the region, as the countries’ claimed shares of 10 percent and 9 percent, respectively, followed by Belize (7 percent) and Haiti (3 percent). Suriname’s high volume of trade with Dubai was mainly dominated by imports of precious metals, with a value exceeding $108.5 million last year. Exports to Suriname from Dubai reached $5.4 million and comprised of machinery, electronics and prepared foodstuffs, beverages and tobacco. (WAM)