TEHRAN- The value of export from Qom province, in central Iran, has risen eight percent during the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20), the director general of the province’s customs department, announced.

Esfandiyar Darikvandi also said the weight of exported products from the province indicates an 11-percenr growth year on year.

There was a heavy pressure on the export sector of the province in the previous year due to the sanctions and coronavirus pandemic, but as the result of some good planning and taken measures a proper ground was laid and a better condition was provided for the enterprises of the province, the official noted.

He announced that 125,731 tons of products valued at $148 million were exported from the province to countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, and 81,000 tons of goods worth $270.8 million were imported from countries such as China, India, Italy, the UAE, Turkey, and Japan in the past year.

As announced by the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past year.

Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi also put the weight of non-oil trade at 146.4 million tons, and said that the figure shows a 25-million-ton annual decline, which is the result of sanctions and coronavirus pandemic.

Iran’s non-oil export was 112 million tons valued at $34.5 billion, and that of import was 34.4 million tons worth $38.5 billion in the past year, the official added.

Among the country’s non-oil export destinations, China was the first, with importing $8.9 billion worth of products, Iraq was the second with importing $7.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates the third with importing $4.6 billion, Turkey the fourth with importing $2.5 billion, and Afghanistan the fifth with importing $2.2 billion, Mir-Ashrafi announced, and named gasoline, natural gas, polyethylene, propane, and pistachio as Iran’s major exported products during the past year.

He further named Iran’s top sources of non-oil imports in the said time, as China with exporting $9.7 billion worth of products to the Islamic Republic, the UAE with $9.6 billion, Turkey with $4.3 billion, India with $2.1 billion, and Germany with $1.8 billion, respectively, and mentioned corn, cellphone, rice, oil meal and oil seeds, wheat, and raw oil as the major imported items.

MA/MA