TEHRAN - Iran’s trade with the members of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) exceeded $8.195 billion in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22) registering a 13 percent increase year on year, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.

According to Morteza Emadi, the weight of traded goods with the mentioned countries fell 30 percent in comparison to the figure for the previous year’s same six months.

During the mentioned period, Iran traded over 10.671 million tons of commodities worth $8,195,694,000 with ECO member countries including Turkey, Afghanistan, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

Iran exported $4.827 billion worth of commodities to the said nations in the first half of the current year, while the imports stood at $3.368 billion.

Major export destinations of the Iranian goods in the said union were Turkey with about $2.626 billion of imports, Afghanistan with $792.09 million, and Pakistan with $560.727 million, according to Emadi.

Meanwhile, Turkey, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan were the top sources of Iranian imports.

Iran and ECO members traded more than 23.723 million tons of goods worth $11.71 billion during the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20, 2021), of which the share of exports was 18.419 million tons of goods worth $6.890 billion and the share of imports from these countries was 5.312 million tons worth $4.819 billion.

Petroleum products, dairy products, foodstuff, fresh and dried fruits, juices and citrus fruits, carpets, saffron, fish, caviar, ornamental aquatic products, various stones, construction equipment, clothing, industrial equipment, bags and shoes, medicine, and health supplies, as well as plastic products, were Iran’s main exported items to ECO members last year, while basic goods, industrial machinery, raw materials for production, and medical supplies and medicine, were the top imported goods from ECO member states.

The Economic Cooperation Organization or ECO is an Asian political and economic intergovernmental organization that was founded in 1985 in Tehran by the leaders of Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.

EF/MA