TEHRAN – The value of export from Mazandaran province, in the north of Iran, rose 38 percent in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, a provincial official announced.

Majid Fani, the acting head of the province’s Industry, Mining and Trade Department, said that 173,000 tons of products worth over $51 million were exported from the province in the said two-month period.

The official named dairy products, cement, plastic materials, kiwi, flowers and plants, and processed meat products as the main items exported from Mazandaran in the first two months of this year.

As previously announced by Hossein-Qoli Qavanlou, the head of the province’s Industry, Mining and Trade Department, the value of export from Mazandaran province rose 55 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20), from its preceding year.

He said that commodities worth $277 million were exported from the province in the previous year.

In terms of the weight, the exports also indicate 44 percent annual growth, he added.

The official further named cement, minerals, dairy products, plastic, and kiwi as the main exported products, and Iraq, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India as the major export destinations.

The data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) show that the value of Iran’s export of non-oil products increased 37 percent during the first two months of the current year, as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Iran exported 17.014 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $8.516 billion in the said two months, also registering a 1.6-percent rise in weight as compared to the first two months of the previous year, the data indicate.

Based on the IRICA data, Iran traded over 22.196 million tons of non-oil products worth $16.631 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

The Islamic Republic imported 5.182 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $8.115 billion in the first two months of the present year, with a 24-percent growth in value and a 3.37-percent decline in weight year on year.

Among the country’s non-oil export destinations, China was the first, importing $2.720 billion worth of products, the United Arab Emirates was the second with $1.502 billion worth of imports, Iraq the third importing $1.312 billion, Turkey the fourth with $766 million of imports, and India the fifth importing $290 million worth of products in the mentioned period.

Iran’s top sources of non-oil imports in the mentioned two months were China, Turkey, India, and Russia.

Considering the amounts of exports and imports in the mentioned two months, the country's foreign trade balance became $401 million positive.

MA/MA