The UAE ranks second among commodity trading hubs worldwide, behind the United States and ahead of Switzerland, reinforcing its leading position as a thriving business powerhouse.
The UAE’s continued prominence among the top global commodity trading hubs underscores the country’s resilience to headwinds alongside the ambitious vision of its leadership that is driving the country’s growth trajectory, said Feryal Ahmadi, chief operating officer of Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).
According to Statista, the UAE raw materials market will reach a nominal value of $123.8 billion by 2024 and $141 billion by 2028, corresponding to an estimated annual growth rate of 3.31 percent. In 2024, the average price per contract in the commodity market will be $0.01.
“Dubai’s strategic location, world-class infrastructure and business-friendly policies give us an advantage that continues to attract businesses and investors from around the world,” Mr Ahmadi said.
The DMCC Commodity Trade Index, presented in the Future of Trade 2024 report, identifies 10 major trading hubs by analyzing three key aspects of commodity trade through 10 specific sub-indicators: I am evaluating it.
According to the DMCC, these indicators capture the essence of locational advantages, resource abundance in commodities such as coffee, grains and gold, financial services and logistics infrastructure, and institutional strength, and that each hub in the world provides a complete picture of the role. trade. Data for these indicators is provided by global institutions such as the World Bank and the United Nations.
“Insights gleaned from our report’s index foster meaningful partnerships that strengthen DMCC’s efforts to shape the future of commerce, drive sustainable growth, and create an environment conducive to business success.” It will guide us on our journey,” Ahmadi said.
The UAE continued to dominate in the raw material endowment factor sector (77%), significantly outperforming all other trading centers thanks to its oil supply. The country also fared well on institutional factors (66%), moving up one place compared to last year to take fourth place, mainly thanks to attractive tax rates and a robust trade and logistics infrastructure. . The index highlighted opportunities for further cooperation and improved trade relations to improve scores on location and trading partner factors.
In 2024, the United States leads the index with a score of 59%, reflecting strong performance across all categories, but its highest score is due to commodity factors and institutional strengths.
Notably, Switzerland ranks in the top three locations for the first time with a score of 46 percent, demonstrating strong performance due to locational advantages and institutional factors, and emerging as an important player in global commodity trading. This shows that the Singapore moved her up three places to take 4th place with a score of 44%, and Hong Kong moved her up one place to 5th place with a score of 41%.
The UK 38 (per cent) witnessed the biggest falls in the ranking. The shift in the headquarters of oil company Shell from the Netherlands to the UK caused a big dent in the Netherlands’ locational score while the effect of Brexit and the increase in tariffs imposed by trading partners impacted the UK’s ranking. The relatively high corporation tax further weakens the UK’s score.
The bottom three performers remained unchanged, which are China (34 per cent), South Africa (18 per cent) and Nigeria (10 per cent), while rich in natural resources, they lag due to weaker institutional support and locational disadvantages. Eight of the hubs saw a decline in their Index scores as the gap between the top and bottom performers continued to widen, underscoring the major impact of geopolitical tensions and macroeconomic conditions on global trade.
