TEHRAN- The value of non-oil trade between Iran and the members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) reached $1.9 billion in the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020 – February 18, 2021), data released by Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) showed.

Based on the mentioned data, the value of trade shows a 9.4-percent fall, as compared with the same period of time in the past year.

Iran exported 2.4 million tons of commodities worth $933 million to the EAEU members in the period under review, registering a 17-percent fall in terms of weight and a four-percent decline in terms of value.

Iran’s imports from the block hit 2.9 million tons valued at $1 billion, with a one-percent rise in weight, and a 14-percent drop in value.

Trade with Eurasia accounted for three percent of the country’s total non-oil trade in the mentioned period.

Iran and Eurasian Economic Union reached a free trade agreement in October 2018 based on which about 862 commodity items were subjected to preferential tariffs.

The interim agreement enabling the formation of a free trade area between Iran and the EAEU was signed on May 17, 2018, and officially came into force on October 27, 2019.

Iran is a very important market in the region and the development of ties with this country is of high significance for the EAEU members (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan).

The free trade agreement between Iran and this union has laid the ground for the expansion of trade ties between the two sides.

The agreement with the bloc has increased Iran’s exports to the EAEU member states significantly, which is a turning point for the Islamic Republic's plans for boosting non-oil exports during the U.S. sanctions.

In late January, TCCIMA hosted an Iran-Eurasia economic diplomacy meeting, attended by senior officials including the TCCIMA Head Masoud Khansari, the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Head Hamid Zadboum, and the Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi.

MA/MA