Participants during the event.

Korean International Trade Association (KITA announced the successful completion of Dubai O2O Exhibition, Online Export Conference and Consumer Event held at Club 2020, Expo 2020 from Nov.1st to 3rd along with Korea SMEs and Startups Agency, Korea Foundation for Cooperation of Large & Small Business, Rural Affairs and CJENM.

To support this event and to hopefully host World Expo 2030 in Busan, Chairman Koo, who was on his way for his first foreign business trip said “Our association has worked for the business corporation between South Korea and the Middle East through Korea-GCC business forums and Korea-UAE business dialogue” and “This event which is to celebrate Dubai Expo is expected to be the opening to enable UAE and South Korea which have made miracles in the desert and Han River to overcome the pandemic and to create new opportunities.”

During the event, 50 companies that produce promising consumer goods including beauty, life, food products participated, and connected with more than 200 buyers in the Middle East and held more than 600 consultation sessions. Buyers experienced and tested the products in the exhibition booth and had consultations via online meetings.

KITA invited more than 200 buyers in the Mena region including UAE, Libya, Morocco, and Kuwait that has previously not been easily accessible and arranged more than 600 B2B online consultation sessions with the domestic companies.

For domestic companies that are facing difficulties to travel for business trips due to COVID-19, KITA supported the marketing activities by hiring professional MDs who oversee explaining the product to the buyers and the visitors.

Furthermore, the unique display layout of the participating companies’ products in the exhibition composed of kitchen, living room, and powder room caught the buyers’ attention.

Food company Egtech said “Last August in the Moscow O2O event, samples of konjac product were sent and has a great potential in the market. In the future, we will make tangible outcomes by actively utilizing the export support programs of KITA.”

A local promotional event was also held for tourists from all over the world who visited the EXPO for two days from the 1st of November. In the promotional exhibition, various events were also held, including mini-concerts by K-pop stars, cover performances by local dance groups, and traditional Korean game experience events inspired by Squid Game.

“Starting with Dubai 2020, the association has held its fourth online-offline consultation in Dubai, following Bogota and Moscow, and has built a new integrated marketing platform in the post-COVID-19 era. We will gradually strengthen offline marketing and continue to discover two-track export supporting services” said Kim Hyun-Chul, the Global Marketing Director of KITA.

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) was established in 1946 with the objective of advancing the Korean economy through trade and is currently the largest business organisation in Korea with over 70,000 member companies. Representing the interests of Korea’s global traders, KITA serves a diverse range of roles including providing hands-on support to trade companies, drawing trade cooperation from the private sector, formulating new trade strategies, nurturing trade professionals, and building trade infrastructure. With a widely established network of 13 domestic offices and 11 overseas branches in major cities, KITA has consolidated its position as a leading business organisation dedicated to assisting SMEs in gaining foreign market entry and has actively contributed towards Korea’s recent achievement of 1 trillion dollars in trade volume.

Meanwhile the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade recorded a 27% growth in H1 2021 compared to H1 2020, indicating a rapid recovery in the country’s non-oil foreign trade and its return to growth trajectory. This also indicates a 6% growth in the country’s non-oil foreign trade compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019.

According to preliminary data released by the Ministry of Economy, the total value of the country’s non-oil foreign trade amounted to nearly Dhs900 billion in the first half of 2021. The value of non-oil exports alone amounted to Dhs170 billion during this period, posting a growth of 44% compared to the first half of 2020 and 41% compared to the same period in 2019.

The contribution of non-oil exports to the country’s total non-oil foreign trade during the same period (first half of 2021) grew to 19% from 16.6% in 2020 and 14.2% in 2019.

Dr Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said that the non-oil foreign trade data for the first half of 2021 reveals a significant and promising growth in the total volume of trade over the past two years, despite the pandemic’s impact on the global trade movement. Furthermore, significant growth in non-oil exports is a clear indication of the rapid recovery and the return to the growth trajectory and the overall growth in the country’s foreign trade movement in general and in promoting national non-oil exports particularly.

“These indicators confirm the efficiency of the forward-looking vision and proactive plans implemented by the UAE under the guidance and support of its wise leadership to deal with the pandemic’s impact on the foreign trade sector. It shows the country’s success in developing flexible, open and long-term policies to maintain the attractiveness of its trade and business environment. These efforts consolidate the UAE’s position as a leading and competitive trade hub connecting the East and West and a major player in ensuring the continuity and growth of global supply chains. What we see today is a testament to the success of our efforts in this direction. The latest figures confirm the distinguished position of the UAE as a vital regional and global trade hub and an influential player that contributes to reshaping the global trade landscape to make it more flexible and sustainable with the aim of restoring the pace of activity and growth in the post-Covid era,” Al Zeyoudi added.

Al Zeyoudi added that the country’s promising foreign trade figures coincide with the launch of the ‘Projects of 50,’ which was recently announced by the UAE government to contribute to enhancing country’s trade performance during the next stage. It includes qualitative and strategic initiatives such as comprehensive economic agreements with a number of targeted global markets, and the 10×10 export development programme designed to provide an additional incentive to strengthen the UAE’s comprehensive economic and trade partnerships with countries around the world continuously discover new trade markets for the UAE. He added: “In light of these integrated and pioneering efforts, we expect the country’s non-oil foreign trade to continue its positive performance during the remaining months of the year.”

An analytical study by the Ministry of Economy on the preliminary data of non-oil foreign trade activities revealed that the value of UAE’s gold exports exceeded Dhs70 billion in H1 2021. It shows a growth of 48% compared to H1 2020, while the rest of the non-oil exports except gold totaled Dhs98 billion with a growth of 42% compared to H1 2020 and 20% compared to H1 2019. It also revealed that 87% of the country’s non-oil exports are locally made and that 13% come from free zones and customs warehouses.

Gold, ornaments and jewellery; aluminium; plastics, copper and articles thereof; iron and steel and articles thereof; are the five most important non-oil exports of the country. Their total value witnessed a growth of 50% in the first half of 2021 compared to the first half of 2020, and 47.4% compared to the same period in 2019.

Re-exports, which totaled Dhs238 billion in the H1 2021, witnessed a growth of 22% compared to the same period in 2020. Furthermore, 46% of the re-exports are from the local market and 54% from free zones.

The total value of imports during the same period exceeded Dhs482 billion indicating a growth of 24% compared to H1 2020 and 3% compared to H1 2019. Up to 66% of the imports go to the local market and 34% to free zones and customs warehouses.

The study conducted by the Ministry further indicated that with regard to the total non-oil trade of the country, 65% of it is with the local market, while free zones and customs warehouses account for the remaining 35%. The study also showed that 46% of this trade takes place by air, 35% by sea, and 20% by land.