TEHRAN - The head of Iran’s Planning and Budget Organization (PBO) has said 40 percent of the oil revenues earned in the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21) will be injected into the country’s National Development Fund (NDF), Shana reported.

“This year is the first year that 40 percent of the oil revenue will go to the National Development Fund, while in previous years only 20 percent [of the revenues] were deposited into the development fund,” Masoud Mirkazemi said.

In late October, Tasnim news agency reported that Iran’s oil revenues increased by eight times in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22) with respect to the same period of the previous year.

Citing official data, the agency reported that the Islamic Republic’s oil revenues also increased by 11 times in the previous year.

The mentioned data showed that the Gini coefficient, as a measure of income distribution and equality, reached 0.39 percent in the previous year with a slight improvement, and it is expected to improve further this year.

Also, general government revenues have grown by 66.5 percent in the first five months of the current year compared to the same period of the previous year.

Iran has been ramping up its oil production and exports over the past year as the country has been implementing new strategies to overcome U.S. sanctions.

The Islamic Republic’s oil export in Q1 2022 increased significantly so that it registered the fastest growth rate among all producers in West Asia. This year, the volume of Iranian crude export reached its highest since former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the so-called Iranian nuclear deal in 2018.

Back in September, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber said that the country is currently selling its oil in global markets and getting paid for it without any problems.

“In the past, we sold oil but couldn’t receive the revenues and our basic good supplies had all reached the red line but with the guidance of the Leader, we have been able to sell our oil, get paid, and bring in basic goods,” Mokhber said in a gathering of government officials.

EF/MA