TEHRAN - Iranian Agriculture Ministry has signed two cooperation documents with China’s General Administration of Customs to facilitate the access of Iranian exporters to the Chinese markets, IRIB reported.

The documents were signed by Iranian Agriculture Minister Javad Sadati-Nejad and Head of China’s General Administration of Customs Yu Jianhua in an online ceremony on Thursday.

According to Sadati-Nejad, the first document was regarding the health requirements for the export of fresh citrus fruits from Iran to China, which is very important considering the annual production of 5.5 million tons of citrus fruits in the country.

The second document was regarding Iranian honey exports to China, the official explained.

Stating that 130,000 tons of honey is produced in Iran every year, he said: “The honey market in China is prosperous and attractive and by signing this document we will also access this market.”

Iran currently exports about $500,000 worth of agricultural products to China every year, and with the signing of these two documents, the volume and value of exports will increase, according to the minister.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports to China reached $4.081 billion in the first six months of 2022, registering a 31-percent rise year on year, according to the data released by China’s customs administration.

The Islamic Republic exported $3.116 billion worth of goods to China in January-June 2021, IRNA reported.

Based on the mentioned data, Iran and China traded $8.263 billion worth of commodities in the mentioned six months to register a 23 percent increase compared to the same period in 2021 in which the figure stood at $6.722 billion.

China's exports to Iran in the first six months of 2022 also grew by 16 percent compared to the previous year to reach $4.182 billion. The Asian country had exported $3.606 billion worth of goods to Iran in the same period of the previous year.

EF/MA