TEHRAN – Iran exported over $896 million worth of agricultural and foodstuff products in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), according to the Deputy Agriculture Minister Ahmad-Ali Keykha.

The official noted that about 1.974 billion tons of such products were exported to foreign destinations in the mentioned two months to register 20 percent and two percent growth in terms of weight and value, respectively.

In the mentioned period, over 4.033 million tons of agricultural and foodstuff products worth $2.202 billion were also imported into the country, according to Keykha.

Watermelons, apples, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, and melon were the top five exported products in the said period in terms of weight, while in terms of value, watermelon, pistachios, tomatoes, apples, and dates were the five major exported products.

The official further pointed to the major imported items, noting that corn, wheat, barley, soybean meal, and unrefined sugar were the top imported items in terms of weight during this period, while corn with $334 million of imports, sunflower seed oil with $265 million, soybean meal with $230 million, wheat with $195 million and soybeans with $175 million were the top five imported items in terms of value.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $6.3 billion in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year, up 48 percent compared to the last year’s same period.

Iran exported 16.9 million tons of non-oil commodities to foreign destinations in the mentioned two months, according to Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Meanwhile, some 5.3 million tons of goods valued at $6.5 billion were also imported into the country in the said period to register a 26.5-percent rise compared to the last year’s same two months.

EF/MA