Abu Dhabi’s trade in raw tobacco saw a steep decline in the run-up to the introduction of excise tax on tobacco products.

Trade dipped 20 percent in the first number of this year, ahead of introduction of 100 percent excise tax on tobacco products, according to the Statistics Centre on non-oil trade movement.

The total value of the tobacco trade slipped $18m, to $94m (AED346m) from January to September this year, down from $112m (AED 413m) in same period last year, the statistics showed.

Tobacco re-exports also dropped to $94m (AED345m), down from $110m (AED404m) during the same period in 2016.

The emirate's tobacco imports also dwindled to a total value of $817,000 (AED3 million) in the first nine months of the year, compared to $2.3m (AED8.5m) in trade during the same period in 2016, as exports remained low.