Trade deficit hits $2b as exports plunge 24% y/y, customs head says
Iran’s non-oil exports reached nearly $15 billion and imports $17 billion between March 21 and Aug. 16, with exports down an average of 24% compared with the same period last year, the head of Iran’s customs administration said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the 43rd meeting of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce’s board of representatives, Foroud Asgari said import policies had prioritized goods designated as foreign-exchange priorities, leading to reduced imports of some non-essential or lower-priority items, IRNA reported.
Asgari said mobile phone imports had dropped sharply. Some 3.16 million handsets were imported during the first five months of last year, compared with about 1 million in the same period this year, representing a roughly 70% decline in value.
The Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade’s current priority is to supply raw materials needed by manufacturing units, Asgari said, adding that import policies were therefore focused on goods that directly feed into the production cycle.
He said 25,000 vehicles had so far been cleared through customs, up 67% from the same period last year.
Turning to basic goods at the country’s ports, Asgari said about 9.5 million metric tons of the country’s total 39 million tons of imports were basic commodities, of which 4.5 million tons were currently held at 13 ports.
About 3 million tons of basic goods were at Imam Khomeini port and about 1 million tons at 12 other ports, he said.
Asgari added that 145,000 tons of goods were currently being unloaded, while about 500,000 tons were waiting at anchorage for unloading.
He stressed the need to streamline port and customs operations to ensure the timely supply of the country’s needs, saying the customs administration was working to ensure that clearance of basic goods and priority items continued without interruption.