Non-oil exports hit $43.14b in nine months, up 18%: IRICA
The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) released the country’s foreign trade report in the last nine months, stressing that non-oil exports reached $43.14 billion, marking an 18% increase compared to the same period last year.
Speaking on Saturday, Foroud Asgari said imports, including gold bullion, amounted to $50.89 billion during March 20-December 20. In terms of weight, the country’s imports fell by 3.16%, totaling 27.94 million tons, IRNA reported.
Asgari noted that the weight of non-oil exports in the first nine months of the current Iranian year reached 116.35 million tons, reflecting a 13.77% increase compared to the previous year. The average customs value of each ton of exported goods rose by 3.74% to $371.
According to Asgari, petrochemical products comprised 50.7 million tons of the exports, valued at $19.7 billion, representing a 33.25% increase in weight terms and a 32% rise in value terms.
Top export destinations
China topped the list of Iran’s major export destinations in the nine-month period with $11 billion, followed by Iraq ($9.4 billion), the United Arab Emirates ($5.3 billion), Turkey ($5.2 billion), Afghanistan ($1.7 billion), Pakistan ($1.7 billion), and India ($1.4 billion).
These seven countries accounted for 82.4% of the weight and 82.85% of the total value of Iran’s non-oil exports, Asgari said.
Major import partners
Regarding imports, Asgari noted that the largest volume of goods came from the UAE ($15.3 billion), China ($13 billion), Turkey ($8.9 billion), Germany ($1.8 billion), India ($1.1 billion), Russia ($1.1 billion), and Hong Kong ($1 billion).
Collectively, these seven countries provided 75% of the weight and 83% of the value of total imports. The average customs value of each ton of imported goods was $1,821, an 8.4% increase compared to the same period last year.
Key export, import items
Asgari highlighted liquefied natural gas ($6 billion), liquefied propane ($2.5 billion), and methanol ($1.9 billion) as Iran’s top three export items during this period.
On the import side, raw gold ($5.6 billion), livestock corn ($2.1 billion), and smartphones ($1.7 billion) ranked as the top three imported goods.