UAE likely to withdraw postal tax
The federal government is considering partial or complete withdrawal of the 10 per cent postal tax collected from private operators, said Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Communications and Chairman of Emirates Post.
“We are actively considering the matter. However, it may take some time,” he said on the sidelines of the World Mail, Express and Air Cargo Expo, Middle East and Africa. He said the new federal government will undertake further measures to liberalise the UAE’s transport, communication and logistics sector that will help it to grow further.
The Middle East express mail market is worth 8 billion euros (Dh39. 5 billion), officials said.
Abdullah Al Daboos, Director-General of Emirates Post, said: “The UAE market accounts for about 35 per cent of the GCC, while Saudi Arabia accounts for 55 per cent. ”
That values the Gulf post-al market at about 622 million euros (Dh3. 07 billion).
Phil Couchman, Regional Director of DHL Middle East, however, said the express mail market in the entire Middle East is worth 218 million euros (Dh1. 07 billion). His company has an ambitious growth plan in the region.
“We at DHL have based our planning on expectations that growth in the Middle East’s share of the $100 billion [Dh367. 31 billion] global market will outpace the rest of the world’s. Arguably, this makes us either particularly sharp-eyed or foolishly optimistic,” he said.
DHL has 47 per cent of the international express market. The next biggest operator has 16 per cent.
Quoting Kearney’s research, he said, freight continues to be the biggest of the three segments of the Middle East transportation market, with a value of more than 8 billion euros a little over a year ago.
The international express market was worth 218 million euros, and logistics – including warehousing, chain management, distribution and related services – 288 million euros (Dh1. 40 billion).
“The regional economy is driving growth in the logistics sector. Growth has been rapid in each strand averaging 17 per cent a year for the past five years to 2003 in the express industry. This is forecast to stabilise at about 13 per cent a year for the next five years to create a 400 million euro [Dh1. 94 billion] market in express,” he said.
“Economic growth in the region has climbed, and, in their efforts to become regionally and globally competitive, more and more companies are looking to optimise their supply chains. This is, inevitably, leading to big opportunities for express operators in the region.
“To put it in the most graphic terms, the regional economy is steaming ahead like a runaway express train. It needs logistics, the right type of logistics and the right type of integrator with sufficient reach if it is not to come off the tracks. “
