TEHRAN - The value of Iran’s non-oil trade reached $54.6 billion in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 21), the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.

According to Mohammad Rezvanifar, the value of the Islamic Republic’s non-oil trade in the first half of the current Iranian year increased by 4.84 percent compared to the same period last year, IRNA reported.

In terms of weight, the country’s foreign trade reached 82.3 million tons which was 23.78 percent more than the figure for the previous year’s first half.

Iran exported 67.7 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $24.144 billion in the mentioned six months. The export of non-oil commodities in H1 increased by 29 percent in terms of weight.

Meanwhile, some 17.6 million tons of goods valued at $30.443 billion were imported into the country in the said period, indicating an 11.62-percent rise in terms of value, and a 6.89 percent increase in terms of weight, year on year.

The average value of each ton of exported goods in the first six months of the current year was $356 and the average value of each ton of imported goods was $1,729.

Iran's top export destination during this period was China with $6.9 billion worth of imports from the Islamic Republic, followed by Iraq with $4.5 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $3.0 billion, Turkey with $2.4 billion, and India with $1.1 billion.

Liquefied natural gas, liquid propane, and liquid butane were the top exported items in the said six months.

Meanwhile, the country’s top five sources of imports in the first half of the current year were the UAE with $9.0 billion, China with $8.8 billion, Turkey with $3.3 billion, Germany with $1.1 billion, and India with $987 million worth of imports.

Corn, smartphones, soybeans, sunflower seed oil, and rice were the top imported items in the period under review.

As previously announced by IRICA, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports during the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21- August 22) reached $19.3 billion.

Based on IRICA data, Iran exported about 55.9 million tons of non-oil goods valued at $19.3 billion in the mentioned five months, registering an 8.55-percent decline in value and a 26.56 percent rise in terms of weight, IRNA reported.

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