Metal products are bulk of Dubai manufacturing

The Dubai Chamber of commerce has just published the results of a survey conducted back in December 2007.

This report reveals the size of heavy industry dealing with fabricated metal products in the Emirate.

According to Dubai chamber membership database for the 2nd quarter of 2007, there were 1,088 active fabricated metal, machinery and equipment companies, of which 248 responded to the survey which was delivered to the firms.

Around three quarters of the companies involved in fabricated metal products, machinery and equipment are small and medium sized companies, while the remainder classify themselves as being 'large' or 'very large'.

The respondent companies collectively reported number of employees equal to 8,455 workers. The cost of those employees totaled AED 1,013 million (per worker cost equals AED 122 thousand).

Production value of fabricated metal, machinery & equipment industries totaled AED 6.9 billion accounting for half of the total manufacturing sector's production.

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While on the other hand production cost totaled AED 3.6 billion.

The higher production cost comes from the raw materials (96%). Fixed assets of these industries amounted to AED 1.2 billion. Value added of these industries amounted to AED 3.3 billion which accounted for 48 per cent of their production.

This is considered high due to the high processes involved in the industry.

A majority of the fabricated metal companies (95%) reported they faced unfavorable conditions with regards to overhead costs. Only 3.6 per cent of them specify high cost of production inputs as constraint.

The majority of respondents have no problems with factors such as the small size of the domestic market and the restrictive laws.

The manufacturing sector is considered one of the main drivers of the Dubai economy. In 2006, the sector contributed around 16 per cent to the economy's non-oil GDP.

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