Capital’s government offers support for import and export companies

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development introduced a new programme to support import and export companies facing challenges during the Covid-19 crisis.

The department said it would liaise with affected companies to understand how the current global economic challenges are impeding their operations and then extend the appropriate support in line with relevant government and semi-government entities.

Rashed Al Balooshi, undersecretary of the department, said the new initiative will “help facilitate procedures during these trying times, further improve the efficiency of local export activities and address any logistical constraints causing higher export costs”.

He said that the programme hopes to increase domestic export volumes and attract new foreign investors to Abu Dhabi.

The department has unveiled a series of initiatives in recent weeks to help small to medium-sized companies cope. Earlier this month, it introduced a new initiative to encourage SMEs to promote locally made products, particularly healthcare supplies that could help to prevent spread of Covid-19.

It also urged local and federal government entities to buy locally produced supplies.

The initiative is aimed at boosting the use of locally made products, while encouraging companies to sell them to government entities, Mr Al Balooshi said.

The department is also working with local companies producing personal protective equipment, buying 250,000 surgical masks of a total of 1.1 million that are being supplied to federal and local governments. Export-related concerns that could be brought to the department’s attention are in two categories, said Ghanim Al Mazrouei, the department’s executive director of international economic relations.

The first involves any external or international constraints imposed by countries on their borders or within their territories. These include tariffs or protection and anti-dumping duties on imported goods to protect local industries from harmful trade practices.

Other constraints include procedural challenges at entry points as well as in the distribution and marketing channels of the target country.

The second type involves logistical constraints linked to transport, shipping, handling, storage and clearance costs or any other fees.