TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s non-oil trade hit $72.3 billion during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2019-January 20, 2020), the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced in a press conference on Sunday.

Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi put the value of non-oil exports at $35.5 billion and that of the non-oil imports at $36.8 billion during the ten-month period, IRNA reported.

He said the non-oil exports rose 20 percent in terms of weight while dropped three percent in terms of value, and non-oil imports increased eight percent in weight with no change in terms of value.

Last week, Finance and Economic Minister Farhad Dejpasand said the decrease in the value of the non-oil export during the first ten months of this year has been mostly due to a 30-percent decrease which the government has applied on the value of the exported items, since the reported prices were believed to be more than the real value of the goods.

“The three-percent fall in terms of value is because exporters believed that the value assigned to the exported goods was more than their real value considering their base prices,” the minister said.

Iran’s non-oil trade with other countries registered a $100-million positive balance in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 – December 21, 2019).

The country’s non-oil exports reached $31.9 billion in the first nine months of the current year, while the imports stood at $31.8 billion.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports stood at $44.3 billion in the previous Iranian calendar year while $42.6 billion worth of commodities were shipped into the country.

An official with the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry announced last week that Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) of Iran is tasked to establish specialized export terminals in certain provinces to facilitate the exports of some commodities.

Deputy Industry, Mining, and Trade Minister Hossein Modares Khiabani said Trade Promotion Organization is expected to pay particular attention to providing the necessary infrastructure for the expansion of the country's non-oil exports.

MA/MA