TEHRAN – Official statistics for Iran’s trade exchanges show that the export of non-oil products to the neighboring countries has risen by 15 percent in the first two months of the current Persian year alone.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran’s trade exchanges with 15 neighboring countries from March 20 to May 21 surpassed $9.2 billion, showing a 15 percent increase compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Iran has exported $4.9 billion in products to 15 neighbors, registering a 25 percent growth compared to last year’s corresponding period.

Iran has also imported $4.3 billion worth of products from the neighboring states in these two months.

Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Oman account for the biggest rise in Iran’s exports.

The total value of Iran’s non-oil trade reached $54.6 billion in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year.

Iran exported 23.5 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $8.0 billion in the mentioned two months, registering 3.77 percent and 8.54 percent increase in terms of value and weight, respectively, IRIB reported.

Meanwhile, some 5.8 million tons of goods valued at $9.1 billion were imported into the country in the said period, indicating a 9.19 percent rise in terms of value, and a 13.29 percent increase in terms of weight, year on year.

Iran's top export destination during this period was China with $2.193 billion worth of imports from the Islamic Republic, followed by Iraq with $1.584 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $1.08 billion, Turkey with $729 million, and Pakistan with $383 million.

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 two months 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.