TEHRAN (iran News) – Iran’s customs office (IRICA) has updated figures related to trade with Turkey for the calendar year to March 20, 2021 as the balance of trade with the northwestern neighbor shows a deficit of $1.83 billion.
IRICA spokesman Rouhollah Latifi said on Tuesday that the value of trade between Iran and Turkey had amounted to $6.856 billion over the past calendar year, down by nearly 32 percent compared to the year to March 2020.
Latifi said Iran’s exports to Turkey dropped significantly over the yearly period to stand at $2.512 billion in value terms, a decline of nearly 51 percent year on year.
Imports, however, decreased by 13.5 percent compared to the year to March 2020 to reach $4.344 billion, he said.
Balance of trade with Turkey had been slightly positive at just $3 million in Iran’s favor in the year to March 2020, said the IRICA spokesman.
Iran reports lower exports to Turkey after a year of strict restrictions at borders because of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The drop is also due to the fact that Turkish businesses are facing increased difficulties in trading with Iranian counterparts because of banking restrictions imposed by the United States.
Iran’s energy exports to Turkey have specifically suffered because of U.S. bans although Ankara is still a main customer of Iranian natural gas.
Latifi said natural gas topped the list of Iran’s export items to neighboring Turkey, followed by dried nuts, fruit and foods, metals, petrochemicals and construction materials, among other products.
Turkey’s main exports items to Iran included legumes, barley, banana, seeds, animal feed and cooking oil, he said.
- source : iran news
