TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 52 percent in the eleventh month of the current Iranian calendar year (January 21-February 19), from the same month of the past year, the spokesman of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

Ruhollah Latifi said that 15.799 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $9.858 billion were traded in the eleventh month of this year, also rising 45 percent in terms of weight as compared to the same month of the previous year.

The official also announced that the non-oil trade in the eleventh month shows 21 percent and 41 percent growth in terms of value and weight, respectively, as compared to the tenth month.

The IRICA spokesman further put the non-oil export at 12.233 million tons worth $4.754 billion in the eleventh month, with 64 percent and 45 percent rise in terms of value and weight, as compared to the same month of the past year, and 31 percent and 51 percent growth in value and weight, as compared to the tenth month of the present year.

China, Turkey, Iraq, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Afghanistan were the major export destinations of Iranian products in the eleventh month, he said.

Latifi then put the non-oil import at 3.566 million tons worth $5.104 billion in the eleventh month, with 42 percent and 46 percent rise in terms of value and weight, as compared to the same month of the past year, and 13 percent and 15 percent growth in value and weight, as compared to the tenth month of the present year.

China, UAE, Turkey, Germany, and Iraq were the main sources of import, he said.

As previously announced by the IRICA deputy head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 38 percent during the first 11 months of the current year (March 21, 2021-February 19, 2022), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Foroud Asgari said that Iran traded over 149.4 million tons of non-oil products worth $90 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

He noted that the weight of trade in the mentioned period also grew by 12 percent in comparison to the figure for the previous year’s same 11 months.

The official put the 11-month non-oil exports at 112.658 million tons valued at $43.517 billion, with a 40-percent rise in value and 10 percent growth in weight.

The Islamic Republic imported 36.777 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $46.577 billion in the first 11 months of the present year, with a 36 percent growth in value and a 19 percent rise in weight year on year, according to the official.

IRICA has previously announced that the value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past Iranian calendar year.

IRICA former Head Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi had put the weight of non-oil trade at 146.4 million tons and said that the figure showed 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 oilseeds, wheat, and raw oil as the major imported items.

MA/MA