TEHRAN – The value of Iran's exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries rose 33 percent in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20) compared to the figure for the preceding year, the portal of Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) reported.

According to Secretary of the TPO’s ASEAN Trade Promotion Desk Mohsen Rezaei-Pour, the Islamic Republic’s export to the mentioned union reached $2.371 billion in the mentioned year.

Indonesia was the top export destination for Iranian goods among the ASEAN member states in the previous year, importing $1.101 billion worth of commodities, Reza-Pour noted.

As reported, exports to Indonesia rose 63 percent in terms of value compared to the same period last year.

During the period under review, Thailand was Iran’s second-largest export destination in this union; the Islamic Republic exported 1.241 million tons of goods worth $784 million to this country, according to the official.

The exports to Thailand increased by 59 percent in terms of value compared to the preceding year.

The top exported items to Thailand include steel ingots, steel sections, zinc, chicken viscera, bitumen, and vaseline, Rezaei-Pour said.

Rezaei-Pour put the country’s trade with the ASEAN union in the Iranian calendar year 1399 (ended on March 20, 2021) at $3 billion, saying that the increase in exports is an indication that the level of trade with the union is expected to follow an upward trend in the current year.

He pointed out that Iran’s top imported items from this union include sugarcane, palm oil, soybeans, food products, rice, home appliances, medium-density fiber, and mobile phones.

ASEAN is an economic union comprising 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and sociocultural integration among its members and other countries in Asia.

EF/MA