TEHRAN- Iran exported non-oil goods worth $5.2 billion to its neighbor Iraq in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-Septemebr 22).

As reported, Iraq was the second export destination of Iran among its other neighbors during the six-month period.

As previously announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil export to its 15 neighboring countries increased by 12 percent during the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year, compared to the same period in the past year.

Mohammad Rezvanifar said the country exported 39 million tons of non-oil products valued at $15.6 billion during the first six months of this year, registering four percent growth in weight year on year.

Iran's total non-oil trade with neighboring countries was 50 million tons worth $32.6 billion in the mentioned six months.

According to Rezvanifar, the Islamic Republic’s non-oil trade with neighboring countries increased by five percent in terms of weight and 15 percent in terms of value in H1 compared to the same period last year.

The country’s imports from its neighbors in the said six months also showed an eight percent increase in weight and 18 percent in value compared to the first half of the previous year.

In late May, the head of the Department of Spatial Planning and Regional Planning of the Iranian Plan and Budget Organization said that Iran exports some 2,200 products, valued at $12 billion, to neighboring Iraq annually.

Speaking in a meeting entitled “Reviewing opportunities and challenges of attracting Iraqi investors and strengthening trade relations between the two countries in line with demarcating Iran in the regional value chain”, Jafar Hosseini said that Iraq, benefiting from $85 billion foreign exchange reserves, 130 tons of gold reserves, and 147 billion barrels of proven reserves of crude oil, is among the richest countries in West Asia.

He went on to say that Iran’s exports to Iraq have increased 15-fold over the past 20 years, rising from about $600 million in 2003 to more than $10 billion last year (ended March 19, 2024).

Currently, Iran exports over 2,200 various types of goods and products to Iraq, he said, adding that more than half of the active Iranian traders are present in the Iraqi market, IRNA reported

Developing the trade infrastructures to facilitate trade between the two countries, encouraging traders to invest in Iraq, promoting trade through dispatching and admitting trade delegations and participating in exhibitions of the two countries, etc. are suggested to strengthen the trade and economic relations between Iran and Iraq, he underlined.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

MA