Trade between GCC, Japan expands 33 percent in 2006

Local economic chamber indicated that the trade between Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Japan increased 33 percent year-on-year, Emirates News Agency reported Monday.

Bilateral trade volume reached 13 trillion Japanese yen (110.45 billion U.S. dollars) in 2006, rising 33 percent over the same period of 2005, according to the Economic Bulletin of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI).

The DCCI said the rapid increase was primarily owed to Japan's soaring imports from GCC, which hit a record high of 11.1 trillion yen.

Japan registered a deficit of nearly 9.3 trillion yen in its trade with GCC in 2006, with its exports to GCC remaining relatively stable.

Japan's imports from GCC increased at an average rate of 21 percent per year from 2002 to 2006 and the average growth rate for exports to GCC stood at 13 percent, which resulted in Japan's widening trade deficit, the report added.(1 U.S. dollars = 117.8 yen)

Source: Xinhua