TEHRAN- The value of non-oil export from Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province increased by 5.8 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1403 (ended on March 20), according to the director-general of the province’s customs department.

Mazaher Rabiei said that 388,780 tons of goods worth $185,299,360 were exported from the province in the previous year, indicating also 9.5 percent growth in terms of weight year on year.

Stating that urea fertilizer is the most important product exported from the province, he said that Chaharmahal-Bakhtiari province’s products are exported to 23 countries around the world, including Oman, Turkey, Iraq, Armenia, India, and the UAE.

The official further announced that 94,344 tons of non-oil goods worth $113,307,949 were imported to the province in the past year, with 219 percent rise in value, and 588 percent growth in weight, as compared to the preceding year.

The main imported products have been raw materials for factories, equipment, and raw materials for production line machinery, which have had a direct impact on increasing exports from the province, he highlighted.

As previously announced by an official with the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported over 152 million tons of non-oil goods worth $57.8 billion in the past Iranian calendar year.

This marked a 10 percent increase in volume and a 15.62 percent rise in value compared to the previous year, Abolfazl Akbarpour, the IRICA deputy head for planning and international affairs, stated.

Imports totaled 39.3 million tons valued at $72.4 billion, representing a 0.77 percent decline in weight but an 8.22 percent increase in value from the previous year. The result was a non-oil trade deficit of $14.6 billion, largely due to the import of over $8.0 billion worth of raw gold bars, which accounted for 11.12 percent of the total import value.

Iran’s main non-oil exports included natural gas, liquefied propane and butane, methanol, liquefied petroleum gases and hydrocarbon gases, and gas condensates.

Natural gas was the top export item, with an average customs value of $314 per ton.

Other leading exports were petroleum bitumen, urea, non-alloy iron and steel billets, iron or steel bars, and polyethylene.

The top destinations for Iran’s exports were China at $14.8 billion, Iraq at $11.9 billion, the United Arab Emirates at $7.2 billion, Turkey at $6.8 billion, Pakistan and Afghanistan at $2.4 billion each, and India at $1.9 billion. These seven countries accounted for $47.6 billion, or 82.3 percent of Iran’s total non-oil export value.

On the import side, essential goods such as corn feed, soybean meal, genetically modified soybeans, rice, and sunflower seed oil were among the top items. Other key imports included smartphones, tractors, and auto parts.

The UAE was Iran’s largest source of imports at $21.9 billion, followed by China at $19.3 billion, Turkey at $12.4 billion, Germany at $2.4 billion, India at $1.7 billion, Hong Kong at approximately $1.4 billion, and Russia at $1.3 billion. Together, these countries supplied goods worth $60.7 billion, or 83.8 percent of Iran’s total imports.

Akbarpour said the trade deficit could be largely attributed to the surge in gold imports, which on their own exceeded $8.0 billion.

MA