TEHRAN- The value of Iran’s exports from the mining sector stood at $5.612 billion in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20,2020-January 19, 2021), according to the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Based on the mentioned data, the Iranian mining sector exported 34.09 million tons of products during the said 10 months, IRNA reported.

As reported, some 3.9 million tons of the mentioned products valued at $762.296 million were exported during the 10th Iranian calendar month of Dey (December 21, 2020-January 19, 2021).

Steel ingots and products, copper cathode, and aluminum ingots accounted for the biggest share of the exported products during the period under review.

During the mentioned time span, 6.173 million tons of non-metallic minerals worth over $214.091 million were exported to foreign destinations.

According to official data, on average the mineral sector has accounted for about 20 percent of the country’s total non-oil exports in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20).

Based on the IRICA data, overall, 122.79 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $58.702 billion were exported from the country in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year.

As previously announced by the former Acting Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade Hossein Modarres Khiabani, reaching the minerals export of $10.5 billion is planned for the current Iranian calendar year.

In the current Iranian calendar year which has been named the year of “Surge in Production” by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Seyed Ali Khamenei, the government is determined to support domestic production and promote the country’s non-oil exports.

The “Persistent Production-Effective Employment-Sustainable Exports” program has been defined by the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry in line with the government’s new strategies for developing the country’s infrastructure in order to realize the “Surge in Production” motto.

Back in April 2020, Iran's Deputy Industry Mining and Trade Minister Darioush Esmaili had said that the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry has provisioned operational targets in the mining sector’s three major areas of exploration, extraction, and processing, for the current year.

“In the mining industry sector, we have targeted a 25-percent increase in the production of mineral products, and in the exploration sector, we will add about 20 percent to the previous reserves”, the official said.

The mining sector accounted for 25 percent of the country’s non-oil revenues in the past Iranian calendar year, he said.

EF/MA