Abu Dhabi's oil exports fell 11 per cent last year, but the effects on the economy were eased a little by a rise in non-oil goods such as steel and plastics, the Department of Economic Development (DED) says.
Oil exports worth Dh313 billion (US$85.21bn) made up 94.5 per cent of gross exports, including re-exports, the DED said yesterday. In 2008, when oil prices hit a record high, the share was 96.5 per cent.
"Abu Dhabi's non-oil exports of goods and services are of relatively low importance compared to oil exports," the DED said. "However, non-oil exports experienced continuous growth which amounted to 30.56 per cent for the entire 2002-2008 period."
Total crude oil output from the UAE, where Abu Dhabi is by far the largest producer, fell 12.3 per cent last year as Abu Dhabi cut production in line with OPEC quotas, according to estimates by the International Energy Agency.
At the same time, average prices for West Texas Intermediate, the global oil price benchmark, decreased by 37 per cent to $61.95 a barrel.
The Government would "encourage exports of industrial and domestic products by offering direct financial subsidies", the DED said, as part of its effort to increase non-oil exports by 7 per cent a year.
Steel and plastics held the largest share of non-oil exports over the past three years, it said, comprising 62.3 per cent of the total. Exports of iron and steel were valued at Dh3.25bn over three years.
The leading market by far was Qatar, which imported 40 per cent of Abu Dhabi's non-oil exports.
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Jigra
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Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
A list of the animal rescue organisations in the UAE
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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The years Ramadan fell in May
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