Media ININ Economy We Trust
Media In / Abu Dhabi 30-04-2019 / WAM
Abu Dhabi’s trade in raw tobacco and manufactured materials reached only AED 5 million in January of this year which is an indicator of a decline in this type of trade since the introduction of the selective tax.
The UAE began to apply selective tax on a segment of commodities harmful to public health in early October 2017, under which a 100% tobacco tax was imposed, as well as some other products, ranging from 50% to 100%, including soft drinks and energy drinks.
This action contributed to the decline in the demand for the commodity, which was evident in the figures issued by the Statistics Center in Abu Dhabi, which is dedicated to monitoring the movement of the trade of non-oil goods of the Emirate.
According to figures issued by the Statistics Center, the value of exports of raw tobacco and manufactured materials from the Emirate of Abu Dhabi amounted to only AED 100,000 during January of this year.
A detailed analysis of the emirate’s tobacco trade in the first month of this year shows that the bulk of the exports were re-exports with a value of AED 4.8 million compared to AED 6 million in January 2018.
On the level of imports, the value of imports amounted to only AED 100 thousand during the month of January, while it reached 330 thousand dirhams in the same month of 2018.
Accordingly, the value of the emirate’s imports and exports of tobacco and its products reached AED 200,000 in January of this year.
The fourth quarter of last year saw a drop of 53.4% in the Abu Dhabi trade in tobacco and tobacco products
