TEHRAN - The value of Iran’s exports to the members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) increased by 22 percent in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21), the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced.

According to the IRICA, Iran exported 50.6 million tons of non-oil goods worth $20.364 billion to OIC member countries in the first seven months of the current Iranian year, IRNA reported.

IRICA report added that the country’s exports to OIC members registered a 15 percent increase in terms of weight in the mentioned period.

During the period under review, the import of products from the mentioned countries also increased by 14 percent and 21 percent in terms of value and weight, respectively.

Iran imported 12.4 million tons of commodities worth $20.356 billion from OIC members in the mentioned period.

Iran's total trade exchanges with the aforementioned countries in the seven months of this year were 63 million tons worth $40.7 billion, according to the IRICA.

In May 2023, the former head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) stressed the need to establish a joint Islamic market among OIC members over the next 10 years.

Addressing a gathering of the heads of OIC member chambers of commerce on the sidelines of the "Russia - Islamic World: Kazan Forum 2023" in Russia, Gholam-Hossein Shafeie said: “An important issue that has been discussed a lot in the past and the organization should pay attention to it in the current situation is the creation of a common Islamic market in the next 10 years, which can be achieved by concluding a free trade agreement among Islamic countries and removing tariff and non-tariff barriers.”

“Experts have worked on the Islamic market plan, and using the experiences and studies of these experts can be a way forward,” he added.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which was formed in 1972, today has reached a position where, according to statistics, the future of the world's energy would be in the hands of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Shafeie said in his speech.

EF/MA