TEHRAN- The value of non-oil export from Mazandaran province, in the north of Iran, rose 18 percent during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-July 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, a provincial official announced.

Amir Jamshidi, an official with the province’s Customs Department, said that 661,200 tons of non-oil goods worth $113.478 million were exported from the province in the four-month period of this year, with a 43-percent growth in weight, year on year.

He said that the non-oil products were exported from the province to 39 countries.

As announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the country has exported non-oil goods worth $17.5 billion in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year, registering an 8.0-percent growth, year on year.

Mohammad Rezvanifar put the total value of the country’s non-oil trade in the mentioned four months at $36 billion.

According to the official, Iran imported $18.5 billion worth of non-oil products, about 6.0 percent less than the figure for the previous year’s corresponding period.

The country’s trade balance was $1.0 billion negative in the mentioned four months, indicating a significant decline compared to the previous year’s same period.

In the first four months of the previous Iranian year, the country’s export of non-oil goods stood at nearly $16 billion, while the imports during this period were about $19.5 billion. The trade balance of the country was negative $2.5 billion during this period.

MA