TEHRAN- The value of export from Golestan province, in the northeast of Iran, rose 28 percent in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-November 21), as compared to the same period of time in the past year, a provincial official announced.

Darvish-Ali Hassanzadeh, the director-general of the province’s Industry, Mining and Trade Department, said that 238,141 tons of commodities worth $141.702 million were exported from the province in the eight-month period of this year, while the value of export from the province was $110.578 million in the first eight months of the past year.

He named cheese, iron pipe, chipboard, dates, metal structure parts, iron wire, plastic bag, cement, copper wire and stone as the main exported items which were exported to 31 countries among which Turkmenistan, Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan were the most important ones.

As previously announced by Ebrahim Hosseini, the director-general of the province’s customs department, the value of export from Golestan province rose 63 percent in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20), from its preceding year.

Hosseini said that over 402,000 tons of commodities worth $183.6 million were exported from the province in the previous year, indicating also 51 percent growth in terms of weight.

He named polystyrene, dairy products, dates, pistachios, cement, ceramic and tiles, and tomato paste as the major exported products, and Kazakhstan, Iraq, Turkmenistan, Bulgaria, Afghanistan and Romania as the main export destinations.

As announced by the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil export rose 4.44 percent during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year, as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

According to Morteza Emadi, Iran exported 70.402 million tons of goods valued at $32.368 billion in the said eight months, registering a 16-percent decline in weight.

Liquefied propane, methanol, liquefied butane, polyethylene, bitumen, urea, liquefied natural gas, iron and steel ingots, and light oils were the main exported products in the said time span.

Major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, and India, according to the official.

The Islamic Republic has also imported 23.405 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $37.116 billion in the first eight months of the present year, with a 15.25-percent growth in value and a 12.44-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, sunflower seed oil, cell phones, flour and unrefined sugar, according to Emadi.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran in the mentioned eight months, followed by China, Turkey, India, and Germany.

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

Iran traded 93.807 million tons of non-oil products worth $69.484 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

MA/MA