The export of floating drilling platform equipment helped raise Abu Dhabi's non-oil trade by more than a third in the second quarter.
The capital's exports more than tripled from Dh1.6 billion in the same period last year to Dh5.9bn, according to data from Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD) yesterday.
Machinery and transport equipment formed over 74 per cent of total exports, with floating or submersible drilling or production platforms the most significant product in the category.
Exports of manufactured goods also rose 26.7 per cent over the quarter.
Abu Dhabi is focused on ratcheting up its non-oil exports as it seeks to cut its reliance on revenue from crude. It has set a target of increasing the contribution to GDP of such exports to 11 per cent by 2030 from 1.5 per cent in 2008.
SCAD's latest data shows imports rose by 20.1 per cent, from Dh21.3bn to Dh25.6bn. Machinery and transport equipment represented almost half of total imports. Manufactured goods rose by 42.5 per cent to contribute Dh6.7bn to imports.
Machinery and transport equipment was also the biggest contributor to re-exports. Total re-exports rose by 15.4 per cent, from Dh2.51bn to Dh2.89bn.
tarnold@thenational.ae