TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s non-oil trade in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-December 20) stood at $52 billion, according to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

The total volume of the country’s non-oil trade was 110 million tons in the mentioned nine months, of which over 85.2 million tons were exported commodities and about 25 million tons were imported goods, Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi told IRIB.

The official put the total value of the imports into the country during the said time span at $26.8 billion, while the value of exports was reported to be $25.1 billion.

According to Mir-Ashrafi, 17.5 million tons of the imported commodities into the country in the period under review were basic goods, accounting for the lion's share of the imports in terms of weight.

Iran's top five non-oil export destinations during this period were China with $6.4 billion worth of exports, Iraq with $5.9 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $3.3 billion, Turkey with $1.8 billion, and Afghanistan with $1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the country’s top five sources of imports during this period were China with $7 billion, the UAE with $6.3 billion, Turkey with $3 billion, India with $1.6 billion, and Germany with $1.6 billion worth of imports.

Some 5.2 million tons of commodities were also transited to other countries through Iran, 10.9 percent less than the figure for the same period in the previous year, Mir-Ashrafi said.

Like all other countries around the world, Iran’s trade with its foreign partners has been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, however, the situation is getting back to normal and the country’s trade is reaching its pre-pandemic levels.

EF/MA