TEHRAN- Iran’s non-oil trade during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22) hit $36.635 billion, a 5.34 percent rise from $34.778 billion in the same time span of the past year, Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

According to the latest report published by IRICA, the country imported $19.442 billion worth of non-oil products during the first five months of this year, with 16.49 percent rise from the figure of last year, IRIB news reported on Wednesday.

Rice, corn for animal feed, vehicles, auto parts and soy bean were the main imported goods, with China, the UAE, South Korea, India and Turkey as the leading exporters of non-oil products to Iran.

Iran’s exports of non-oil goods stood at $17.193 billion during the five-month period this year, indicating 4.95 percent fall from the non-oil exports figure in the first five months of the preceding year.

Gas condensate, polyethylene grades used in film application, liquefied propane, low-density oils and methanol were the major exported products with China, Iraq, the UAE, South Korea and India on top of the Iranian goods’ buyers.

According to IRICA, in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2016) the value of the country’s non-oil trade reached over $83 billion.

In the past year, Iran exported $42.415 billion worth of non-oil goods while its imports reached $41.499 billion, showing a 16.11 percent decrease in the value of exports and a 22.53 percent decline in the value of imports when compared to its previous year.

MA/MG