In a clear reflection of rise in its commercial activities, Abu Dhabi recoded significant jump in its foreign trade that surged over nine percent to stand at 112.071 billion dirhams in the year 2009, according to the figures released by Abu Dhabi Customs Department.

The country witnessed around 52 per cent rise in non-oil export which stood at 9.5 billion dirhams against 6.25 billion dirhams in the previous year. Imports too rose four per cent and were recorded at 93.87 billion dirhams compared to the 90.28 billion dirhams in 2008.

The re-export segment too did well in 2009 irrespective of a challenging period due to global slowdown in the World. Its volume rose to 8.69 billion dirhams during the reporting period.

Saeed Ahmed Abdullah Al Muhairi, Director-General of Abu Dhabi Customs said, "These statistics reflect trade growth witnessed in Abu Dhabi, a strong trading center in the region."

Meanwhile, Qatar gets top slot in terms of export volume and Saudi Arabia stands at second place. Further, the data released today indicates increasing commercial ties between UAE and South Korea as volume of exports from the country surged 403 per cent in 2009.