TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s non-oil trade increased three percent in the third Iranian calendar month Khordad (ended on March 21), from the same month of the previous year, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Ruhollah Latifi put the country’s non-oil trade at 13.622 million tons worth $8.9 billion in the third month, and said the with the country's exports being more than imports in that month, a positive trade balance of $204 million was achieved.

The official further put the monthly non-oil export at 10.65 million tons worth $4.553 billion, and that of import at 2.972 million tons valued at $4.349 billion.

As previously announced by the IRICA head, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $13.69 billion in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, up 21 percent compared to the last year’s same period.

Alireza Moghadasi said Iran exported 27.7 million tons of non-oil commodities in the mentioned three months.

Meanwhile, some 8.154 million tons of goods valued at $12.464 billion were imported into the country in the said period to register an 18-percent rise in terms of value compared to the last year’s same quarter.

In total, the Islamic Republic traded about 36 million tons of non-oil goods worth $25.5 billion with its trade partners in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year, up 19.5 percent in terms of value, Moghadasi said.

According to the official, the country’s trade balance was $605 million positive in the mentioned time span.

Iran's top export destination during this period was China with $4.214 billion worth of imports from the Islamic Republic, followed by Iraq with $1.824 billion, Turkey with $1.737 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $1.645 billion, and India with $424 million.

Meanwhile, the country’s top five sources of imports during these three months were the UAE with $3.426 billion, China with $3.131 billion, Turkey with $1.273 billion, India with $512 million, and Germany with $456 million worth of imports.

As previously announced by the IRICA head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 38 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20), as compared to its previous year.

Moqadasi put the country’s non-oil trade at 162 million tons worth $100 billion in the past year.

He said that Iran exported 122 million tons of non-oil products worth $48 billion in the previous year, which was $14 billion (41 percent) more than the figure for its preceding year.

The country's non-oil trade record in 1400 was reached while the toughest sanctions were imposed on Iran, but thanks to God and the efforts of entrepreneurs, producers and the cooperation of foreign trade-related organizations, a historical record was achieved in the past year which was unprecedented in recent decades, the official has underlined.

EF/MA