Dubai Customs continues robust growth in 2005 by processing 2.892 million Bill of Entry (BoE) transactions

Ahmad Butti Ahmad, Director General, Dubai Customs, said, "The increase of BoE transactions in 2005 is a reflection of the growth in non oil trade in the Emirate. The growth also highlights the capability of Dubai Customs to handle the growth in volume of trade as well as our commitment to trade partners by simplifying and streamlining our process to enable trade facilitation."

"The number of BoE transactions in 2005 touched 2.893 million from 2.536 million, which is an increase of 356,000. This increase was recorded in a period when Dubai Customs were putting in motion our strategic plan, which involved providing staff training and IT implementation, drawn up to increase our efficiencies."

November 2005 recorded the highest number of transaction with 9.5 per cent of the total transactions or 277200 being processed in the month. October ranks the second after November with 9 per cent of the total BoE transactions or 262000 being conducted in that month.

"We expect the volumes of transactions to increase in 2006," said Butti Ahmad, "The UAE and especially Dubai is increasingly seen as a reliable trade partner internationally. Dubai Customs is positioned to meet the future challenges as the volume of trade is set to increase dramatically in the coming years."

The latest statistics compiled by Ports, Customs and Free Zones Corporation has noted that the total BoE processes increased 7.9 per cent in January 2005 (210300 BoEs) compared to the January 2004 (194900 BoEs). February 2005 (209600 BoEs) posted an increase of 12.1 per cent in comparison to the same period (186800 BoEs) in 2004. March 2005 (232400 BoEs) recorded 7.0 per cent increase in transactions compared to the March 2004 (217200).