TEHRAN – Iran’s non-oil exports to its 15 neighboring countries reached $10.723 billion in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22) to register a 27-percent increase compared with the preceding year, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.

Rouhollah Latifi put the weight of the exported goods at 25.398 million tons, saying that non-oil trade with neighboring countries has had remarkable growth in terms of value and weight during the mentioned period, IRNA reported.

In total, the Islamic Republic traded about 33.333 million tons of non-oil goods worth $20.636 billion with its neighbors in the mentioned five months.

Trade with neighboring countries accounted for 57 percent and 48 percent of the weight and value of Iran’s total non-oil trade in the said period, respectively.

According to the official, Iran traded 58.140 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $42.589 billion in the mentioned time span.

Elaborating on the country’s foreign trade, the official named Iraq, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, and Azerbaijan as Iran’s first seven export destinations, followed by Russia, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.

Latifi further said Iran imported 7.935 million tons of goods worth $9.913 billion from its neighbors in the first five months of the current year, indicating a 15 percent growth in value, year on year.

He named UAE, Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, Oman, Kazakhstan, and Iraq as the seven top sources of imports.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports stood at $17.24 billion in the first four months of the current year (March 21-July 22), up 22 percent compared to the last year’s same period.

Based on the IRICA data, Iran exported 35.656 million tons of non-oil commodities in the mentioned four months.

Meanwhile, some 11.159 million tons of goods valued at $17.24 billion were imported into the country in the said period, indicating a 17-percent rise in terms of value compared to the last year’s same time span.

In total, the Islamic Republic traded about 46.815 million tons of non-oil goods worth $34.48 billion with its trade partners in the mentioned four months, up 19 percent in terms of value.

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