TEHRAN- Iran exported $27 billion of non-oil commodities during the eight-month period from March 21 to November 23, IRIB reported on Tuesday citing the data released by Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

The IRICA’s data put the weight of the country’s non-oil exports at 88 million tons during the mentioned time span, which indicates a 16-percent rise from the figure of the same period of time in the previous year.

Iran imported 22 million tons of non-oil goods valued at $28.3 billion during the eight-month period, with a 1.5-percent rise in weight while 4.8 percent fall in value compared to the same time span of the past year.

As reported, China, Iraq, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and Afghanistan were the five major export destinations of Iranian non-oil products while China, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India and Germany were the five leading exporters of goods to Iran during the mentioned time.

As previously announced by IRICA, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports stood at $44.3 billion in the previous Iranian year, while $42.6 billion worth of commodities were shipped into the country.

Iran shares border with fifteen countries, namely the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Oman, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

Based on the data published by Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO), the value of trade with the neighboring countries stood at over $36.5 billion in the past Iranian calendar year, which is about 41 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade in the mentioned time span.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that Iranian government is pursuing in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21).

Deputy Industry Minister Hossein Modares Khiabani has said that his ministry is planning to increase the value of Iran’s non-oil exports to its 15 neighbors up to $50 billion.

“Our goal is to be able to meet five percent of our neighboring countries' needs, which would amount to more than $50 billion a year considering the total imports of all the 15 countries which is at least $1 trillion annually,” he said in August.

The official expressed hope that the mentioned goal would be realized before the Iranian calendar year of 1400 (which starts in March 2021), saying that the Institute for Trade Studies and Research and also Trade Promotion Organization are currently developing detailed plans to achieve this goal.

MA/MA