TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s non-oil trade with its neighbors during the previous Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20) stood at $51.875 billion to register a 43 percent increase year on year, head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Alireza Moghadasi put the weight of non-oil trade with the neighboring countries at 100.131 million tons in the said year, stating that trade with the neighbors also increased by 23 percent in terms of weight, IRIB reported.

The official put the annual non-oil exports to the mentioned countries at 75.445 million tons valued at $26.29 billion, with a 29 percent rise in value and a 12 percent growth in weight.

Major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were Iraq with $8.9 billion, Turkey with $6.1 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with $4.9 billion, Afghanistan with $1.8 billion, and Pakistan with $1.3 billion in imports from the Islamic Republic, followed by Oman, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia, according to the official.

Moghadasi further stated that Iran imported 24.686 million tons of non-oil commodities worth over $25.846 billion in the previous year, with a 60-percent growth in value and a 68-percent rise in weight year on year.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran in the said period exporting $16.5 billion worth of goods to the country, followed by Turkey, Russia, Iraq, and Oman, he stated.

Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain were other top neighboring countries that supplied goods to Iran in 1400, respectively.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

According to IRICA, Iran currently exports non-oil commodities to 40 European countries, 21 Asian countries, 28 African countries, and 12 American countries, while importing from 41 European countries, 31 Asian countries, 12 American countries, and 11 countries in Africa.

EF/MA