TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s non-oil export rose 5.6 percent during the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-October 22) as compared to the same period of time in the past year, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.

According to Morteza Emadi, Iran exported 61.283 million tons of goods valued at $28.406 billion in the mentioned seven months, registering an 18.2-percent decline in weight, IRIB reported.

Liquefied propane, methanol, liquefied butane, film-grade polyethylene, petroleum bitumen, liquefied natural gas, urea, iron and steel ingots, and light oils and petroleum products were the main exported products in the said time span, accounting for 41.9 percent of the total value of the exports.

Major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China with $9.181 billion of imports, Iraq with $4.029 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with $3.476 billion, Turkey with $3.081 billion, and India with $1.098 billion.

According to the official, the Islamic Republic has also imported 19.747 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $31.727 billion in the first seven months of the present year, with a 14.4-percent growth in value and a 15.7-percent decrease in weight, year on year.

The first five items of goods imported into the country in the said period include corn, rice, wheat, soybeans, cell phones, sunflower and safflower oil, tractors, and unrefined sugar.

The United Arab Emirates with $9.435 billion was the top exporter to Iran in the mentioned seven months, followed by China with $8.284 billion, Turkey with $3.218 billion, India with $1.695 billion, and Germany with $991 million worth of exports.

Reportedly, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 10 percent during the first seven months of the present year, as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Iran traded 81.03 million tons of non-oil products worth $60.133 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

The weight of the total non-oil trade in the said time span declined 17.6 percent, year on year.

As previously announced by the IRICA head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 38 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20), as compared to its previous year.

Alireza Moqadasi put the country’s non-oil trade at 162 million tons worth $100 billion in the past year.

He said that Iran exported 122 million tons of non-oil products worth $48 billion in the previous year, which was $14 billion (41 percent) more than the figure for the preceding year.

The country's non-oil trade record in 1400 was reached while the toughest sanctions were imposed on Iran, but thanks to God and the efforts of entrepreneurs, producers, and the cooperation of foreign trade-related organizations, a historical record was achieved in the past year which was unprecedented in recent decades, the official has underlined.

EF/MA