Dubai Trade, the leading trade facilitation hub in the UAE, has crossed 300 million transactions since the platform was established in 2003, eliminating approximately 617 million printed documents and saving 25,400 metric tons of CO2 emissions.
The achievement comes from a record-setting year in 2023, with Dubai Trade registering 32.6 million transactions compared to 26 million the year before, representing a 25% increase. Of these, 48% of the transactions were related to clearance and border controls, with 44% falling under cargo handling and logistics.
Dubai Trade, the digital arm of DP World in the GCC region, has consistently demonstrated robust growth since it was formed, with an average 8% year-on-year increase in annual digital transactions since 2003. Today, Dubai Trade facilitates nearly 90,000 transactions daily.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “Dubai Trade’s remarkable growth since 2003 reflects our strategic focus on improving the trade flow through digitalisation, aligned with Dubai’s Economic Agenda D33. By integrating key stakeholders and driving trade activity through our single window platform, we have significantly enhanced trade efficiencies, contributing to Dubai’s non-oil foreign trade target and supporting sustainability objectives simultaneously.”
Mohamed AbuHamra, Chief Operating Officer of Digital Technology, DP World GCC, said: “We are thrilled to pass the 300 million transactions mark, which is a testament to the pivotal role Dubai Trade has played in supporting economic activity and digitalising the trade and logistics industry in Dubai over the past two decades. Our ongoing investment in digital infrastructure and smart solutions is geared towards making cross-border trade in Dubai seamless, faster and more accessible, and we look forward to even more success as we continue to transform our single window platform.”
Dubai Trade was created to combine various trade and logistics service providers under one digital platform. Today, it boasts a user base of over 180,000 traders and a comprehensive digital ecosystem offering more than 700 digital solutions, including customs clearance, government permits, port clearance certificates, company licensing, and free zone administrative services.
Some of Dubai Trade’s achievements of 2023 include:
- Trade and Logistics: 22,420 new customers registered on the platform in 2023, marking an increase of 17% in the number of new registrations in 2022.
- Payment Gateway: The digital platform’s payment system, Rosoom, saw a 32% increase in transactions, reaching 3.3 million in 2023 compared to 2.5 million in 2022. The total value of these payments grew by 40% to more than AED 2 billion.
- Supply Chain and Logistics Academy: Dubai Trade’s educational academy, which offers courses and workshops for the trade and logistics sector, trained 5,500 candidates in 2023, more than double the number of 2,500 candidates in 2022.
- Sustainability: Through the ongoing digitalisation of services, Dubai Trade eliminated the need for approximately 25.5 million physical visits and 85 million paper documents, saving time, fuel and approximately 3,450 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
