TEHRAN - The value of Iran’s non-oil trade with its neighbors increased by 16 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21) to reach $26.857 billion, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said.

Mohammad Rezvanifar put the weight of non-oil trade with the neighboring countries at 43.579 million tons in the said period, noting that the trade between the two sides also increased by 10 percent in terms of weight, IRNA reported.

During the mentioned five months, Iran exported 34.118 million tons of goods worth $13.402 billion to its neighbors, while importing 9.461 million tons of commodities valued at $13.455 billion.

Iran’s exports to neighboring countries in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year increased by 11 percent in terms of weight and 19 percent in terms of value, respectively; and imports from neighboring countries increased by 10 percent and 13 percent respectively in terms of weight and value, according to Rezvanifar.

He named Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Pakistan, and Afghanistan as the top importers of Iranian goods among the neighboring countries, and the UAE, Turkey, Russia, Oman, and Pakistan as the main sources of imports in the said five months.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

EF/MA