TEHRAN - Iran exports to India increased by 12 percent in the first quarter of 2023 to reach $188 million from $168 million in the same period of 2022, according to the data released by India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The ministry data indicate that trade between Iran and the South Asian nation reached $510 million in January-March this year, IRNA reported.

The figures showed a 24 percent decrease compared to the same period last year when the total volume of trade between the two countries stood at $678 million.

The decrease was mainly caused by a 37 percent drop in Indian exports to Iran; India’s exports to the Islamic Republic fell to $322 million in the said period from $510 million last year.

According to the report, rice had the largest share in India’s exports to Iran accounting for 63 percent of the total volume of exports. Fruits with $15 million and tea with $10 million ranked second and third.

Oil products also constituted the largest share of Iran’s exports to India with $65 million in the same period. Fruits and raw materials for paint production were respectively the second and third largest exported commodities.

The value of trade between Iran and India reached $2.5 billion in 2022, rising 48 percent from $1.693 billion in 2021.

During January-December 2022, India’s export to Iran also increased by 44 percent to stand at $1.847 billion, while the figure was $1.284 billion in 2021.

Rice was India’s major product exported to Iran in the said period during which the country shipped $1.098 billion worth of rice to the Islamic Republic.

In late May 2022, the Iranian ambassador to India said that Iran and India are trying to diversify the channels of payments to expand 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 the 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 at the time.

“We want to develop our economic and trade relations beyond energy and petrochemical products. because, due to the complementarity of Iran and India's economies, an extensive range of non-oil trade exists between the 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.

EF/