TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s export to India increased by 35 percent in the first seven months of 2022, from the same period of time in 2021, Tasnim news agency reported citing the data released by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

As reported, Iran exported commodities worth $361 million to India in the seven-month period of this year, while the figure was $267 million in the same time span of the past year.

Fruits were the major products Iran exported to India, accounting for 26 percent of the total exported items. Iran exported $96 million of fruits to India in the mentioned time span.

During January-July of the present year, India’s export to Iran has also risen 54 percent to stand at $1.243 billion, while the figure was $807 million in the first seven month of 2021.

Rice was India’s major product exported to Iran in the said time, as the product accounted for 66 percent of the country’s total export to the Islamic Republic.

India exported $825 million of rice to Iran in the first seven months of this year, while the figure was $641 million in the first seven months of 2021.

According to the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the value of trade between Iran and India stood at $1.604 billion during January-July 2022, rising 49 percent from $1.074 billion in the same period of time in 2021.

In late May, Iranian ambassador to India said that Iran and India are trying to diversify the channels of payments to expand the bilateral trade.

In an exclusive interview with Financial Express Online, Ali Chegeni said, “We are trying to diversify the channels of payments and accordingly wish to extend and expand an already existing mechanism in order to cover all of the goods and services including all of non-oil goods and to achieve this”.

During the past two years, because of Covid restrictions, we pursue the issue via virtual dialogues and currently our officials are following the matter through the exchange of delegations, the envoy stated.

“We want to develop our economic and trade relations beyond energy and petrochemical products. Since due to the complementarity of Iran and India economies, an extensive range of non-oil trade exists between two sides including trade on goods and services, investment, tourism, education and … which may pave the way for multiplying our economic relations ten times more than current relations in mid and long terms”, Chegeni said.

MA/MA