TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s export to Iraq has risen 28 percent during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the secretary-general of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce announced.

Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi said that Iran exported 13.9 million tons of products valued at $3.8 billion to its neighbor Iraq in the first half of this year, which also indicates 50 percent rise in terms of weight.

He put the country’s non-oil export to Iraq at 9.3 million tons valued at $2.971 billion in the first six months of the previous year.

Regarding Iran’s competitors in the Iraqi market, Sanjabi Shirazi said: "China and Turkey are our traditional competitors in the Iraqi market, but we are witnessing the movement of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Jordan, which plan to take a lasting share and take over the Iraqi market."

“The number of our business competitors in Iraq is increasing. In this situation, we must make good use of the opportunity of economic cooperation with Iraq by recognizing the threats and opportunities, drawing up a clear strategy with long-term interests in mind, removing obstacles, providing government support and providing the necessary incentives to the private sector, on-site production strategies, establishing local companies, joint ventures, supplying capillary distribution networks, and starting ICT-based businesses”, he further commented.

As announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 47 percent during the first half of the current Iranian calendar year, as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi said that Iran has traded 79.1 million tons of non-oil products worth $45 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

The official put the six-month non-oil exports at 60 million tons valued at $21.8 billion, with a 61-percent rise in value and a 30-percent growth in weight.

The IRICA head mentioned liquefied natural gas, methanol, polyethylene, semi-finished iron products, iron ingots, propane, urea, gasoline, iron rods and cathodes as the main exported products in the said time span.

He said major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China with about 14.8 million tons worth $6.5 billion, Iraq with 13.9 million tons worth $3.8 billion, Turkey with 7.2 million tons worth $2.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 5.8 million tons worth $2.2 billion, and Afghanistan with 2.5 million tons worth $1.0 billion.

The official further announced that Iran has imported 19.1 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $23.1 billion in the first six months of the present year, with a 37-percent growth in value and a 15-percent rise in weight year on year.

Mir-Ashrafi named cellphones, livestock corn, sunflower oil, barley, meal, wheat, soybeans, sugar, palm oil, and rice as the main imported commodities.

The United Arab Emirates with 5.9 million tons of goods worth $7.3 billion was the top exporter to Iran in the said period, followed by China with 1.5 million tons of goods worth $5.0 billion, Turkey with 2.1 million tons worth $2.4 billion, and Switzerland with one million tons worth $900,000, the official stated.

According to the official, out of the total 19.1 million tons of goods imported into the country in the first six months of this year, 14.3 million worth $8.9 billion were basic goods, which constitutes 75 percent of the total imported goods.

The IRICA head has announced that the value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past Iranian calendar year.

Mir-Ashrafi has put the weight of non-oil trade at 146.4 million tons, and said that the figure shows a 25-million-ton annual decline, which is the result of sanctions and coronavirus pandemic.

MA/MA