TEHRAN (Iran News) Faroud Asgari, Deputy Minister of Economy and Head of IRICA, provided a detailed breakdown of the country’s trade performance, highlighting growth in both export and import activities despite ongoing economic challenges.

Iran’s total non-oil trade for the year amounted to 191.2 million tons, reflecting a 7.63% increase in volume compared to the previous year. The export share stood at 151.9 million tons, while imports accounted for 39.2 million tons.

Exports rose by 15.62% in value to $57.84 billion, while imports increased by 8.22%, reaching $72.38 billion. In terms of volume, exports showed a 10% rise, whereas imports declined slightly by 1%.

Iran’s petrochemical sector played a crucial role in boosting exports. Asgari reported that 61.6 million tons of petrochemical products, valued at $24.91 billion, were exported last year. This represents a 27% increase in volume and a 28% rise in value from the previous year.

The top three exported commodities were: Natural gas – $6.87 billion; Liquefied propane – $3.64 billion; and liquefied butane – $2.21 billion.

Iran’s exports were mainly directed to seven countries, led by China with $14.85 billion in purchases. The other key destinations included: Iraq – $11.94 billion; United Arab Emirates (UAE) – $7.20 billion;     Turkey – $6.89 billion; Pakistan – $2.42 billion; Afghanistan – $2.41 billion; and India – $1.90 billion

These nations accounted for the bulk of Iran’s export revenues, driven largely by energy, petrochemical, and agricultural products.

On the import side, raw gold led the list of top imported goods, with a value of $8.05 billion. Other major imports included: Animal feed corn – $2.98 billion; Smartphones – $2.40 billion; Soybean meal – $1.95 billion; Soybeans – $1.32 billion; Heavy-duty vehicles (tractors and trucks) – $1.27 billion; Rice – $1.27 billion; and car parts for assembly – $1.05 billion

These goods reflect both the country’s industrial needs and consumer market demands.

Iran’s key import partners in 1403 were: United Arab Emirates (UAE) – $21.98 billion; China – $19.33 billion;  Turkey – $12.47 billion; Germany – $2.43 billion; India – $1.75 billion; Hong Kong – $1.39 billion; and Russia – $1.35 billion.

The data underscores the continued reliance on regional and global trade partners, with China and the UAE maintaining their positions as Iran’s top economic allies.

Despite sanctions and economic constraints, Iran’s non-oil trade in 1403 showed solid growth in both value and volume. The positive trade balance in some sectors, especially petrochemicals and energy derivatives, demonstrates the country’s efforts to diversify its exports and reduce dependence on crude oil sales.

Officials remain hopeful that with ongoing trade diplomacy and regional economic partnerships, Iran will continue to build on this momentum in the year ahead.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) In an interview with Fars news agency, Dehqan Dehnavi highlighted measures to facilitate currency transfers for traders, saying that Iran employs various tools tailored to its trade partners, including bilateral trade using local currencies.

“Iran’s non-oil exports grew by 18 percent in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year, and it is predicted that the trade growth trend will be maintained by the end of the year and will grow by 18 percent,” he said.

The TPO head revealed ongoing negotiations with multiple countries to streamline currency transfers, with the Central Bank of Iran playing a pivotal role.

Iran has already signed agreements with several nations to conduct trade using local currencies, easing pressure on traders and ensuring smoother transactions, he said.

Dehqan Dehnavi also touched upon the measures to reduce risks for Iranian exporters entering target markets, particularly Russia.

“A $2 billion credit line has been established to cover the risks of Iranian businessmen. The Export Guarantee Fund established the credit line for countries targeted by Iranian exports to cover the risks of businessmen,” he said.

Iran has faced significant economic sanctions in recent years, which have particularly targeted its oil exports. This has prompted the country to focus on enhancing its non-oil trade, exploring alternative financial mechanisms and new markets.

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Ruhollah Latifi put the weight of non-oil trade with the neighboring countries at 79.98 million tons in the said period and stated that trade with the neighbors increased by 1.8 percent in comparison to the same period last year.

During the mentioned 10 months, Iran exported 60.368 million tons of goods worth $23.15 billion to its neighbors, while importing 19.61 million tons of commodities valued at $26.68 billion.

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 10 months.

As previously announced by the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Iran exported 113 million tons of non-oil goods valued at $40.5 billion during the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year.

Mohammad Rezvani-Far said that the 10-month non-oil export indicates a nine percent growth in weight, but an 11 percent fall in value, year on year.

Rezvani-Far further announced that Iran imported 32.7 million tons of goods worth $54.8 billion in the first 10 months of the present year, which indicates an 11.6 percent rise in value and six percent growth in weight.

According to the official, China, Iraq, UAE, Turkey, and India were the major export destinations of Iranian goods in the said period, and the UAE, China, Turkey, Germany, and India were the main sources of import.

Gold, car parts and accessories, and smartphones were the main imported items during this period, he said.

In the first 10 months of this year, 14.2 million tons of goods were also transited through Iran, which was 29 percent more compared to the same period last year, Rezvani-Far said.

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Latifi said the country has traded 12.34 million tons of non-oil goods worth $9.856 billion with the 11 member states of SCO in the spring, IRNA reported.

Iran has exported 10.213 million tons of goods worth $5.513 billion to the SCO members in this period, registering a 20 percent increase compared to the same quarter last year.

Moreover, the Islamic Republic has imported 2.167 million tons of goods worth $4.342 billion from the mentioned countries in Q1, indicating a 41-percent increase compared to last year’s same time span.

Among SCO members, China was Iran’s top export destination in the said period followed by India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, and Mongolia.

China was also the top exporter to Iran, followed by India, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Mongolia.

Iran was granted long-awaited permanent membership of the SCO last year and is now completing formalities to make it official.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), or Shanghai Pact, is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance, the creation of which was announced on June 15, 2001 in Shanghai, China by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Charter, formally establishing the organization, was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on September 19, 2003.

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Ruhollah Latifi put the weight of non-oil trade with the neighboring countries at 110.284 million tons in the said time span, and stated that trade with the neighbors accounted for 52 percent of value and 62 percent of the weight of non-oil trade in the first eight months.

The official further stated that non-oil trade with the neighbors shows 45 percent rise in value and 19 percent growth in weight as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

As previously announced by the IRICA head, the value of Iran’s non-oil trade rose 40 percent during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year, as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi has said that Iran traded over 110.3 million tons of non-oil products worth $63.1 billion with other countries in the mentioned period.

According to the IRICA head, the weight of trade in the mentioned period also grew by 43.5 percent in comparison to the figure for the previous fiscal year.

The official put the eight-month non-oil exports at 83.7 million tons valued at $31.1 billion, with a 42-percent rise in value and 10.5-percent growth in weight.

Mir-Ashrafi noted that petrochemical products accounted for 43 percent of the total value of the exports in the said time span, with 39.8 million tons worth $13.3 billion of the said products being exported to foreign markets.

He said major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Afghanistan.

The official further announced that the Islamic Republic imported 26.5 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $32 billion in the first eight months of the present year, with a 38-percent growth in value and a 21-percent rise in weight year on year.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran in the said period, followed by China, Turkey, Germany, and Switzerland, he stated.

According to the IRICA head, out of the total non-oil goods imported into the country in the first eight months of this year, 20.3 million tons worth $12.4 billion were basic goods, which accounted for 38 percent of the total value of the imports.

Mir-Ashrafi has announced that the value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past Iranian calendar year.

He has put the weight of non-oil trade at 146.4 million tons, and said that the figure shows a 25-million-ton annual decline, which is the result of sanctions and coronavirus pandemic.

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Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi said that Iran has traded over 110.3 million tons of non-oil products worth $63.1 billion with other countries in the mentioned period, IRIB reported.

According to the IRICA head, the weight of trade in the mentioned period also grew by 43.5 percent in comparison to the figure for the previous fiscal year.

The official put the eight-month non-oil exports at 83.7 million tons valued at $31.1 billion, with a 42-percent rise in value and 10.5-percent growth in weight.

Mir-Ashrafi noted that petrochemical products accounted for 43 percent of the total value of the exports in the said time span, with 39.8 million tons worth $13.3 billion of the said products being exported to foreign markets.

He said major export destinations of the Iranian non-oil goods were China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Afghanistan.

The official further announced that the Islamic Republic imported 26.5 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $32 billion in the first eight months of the present year, with a 38-percent growth in value and a 21-percent rise in weight year on year.

The United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran in the said period, followed by China, Turkey, Germany, and Switzerland, he stated.

According to the IRICA head, out of the total non-oil goods imported into the country in the first eight months of this year, 20.3 million tons worth $12.4 billion were basic goods, which accounted for 38 percent of the total value of the imports.

Mir-Ashrafi has previously announced that the value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past Iranian calendar year.

He has put the weight of non-oil trade at 146.4 million tons and said that the figure shows a 25-million-ton annual decline, which is the result of sanctions and coronavirus pandemic.

Iran’s non-oil export was 112 million tons valued at $34.5 billion, and that of import was 34.4 million tons worth $38.5 billion in the past year, the official added.

Among the country’s non-oil export destinations, China was the first, with importing $8.9 billion worth of products, Iraq was the second with importing $7.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates the third with importing $4.6 billion, Turkey the fourth with importing $2.5 billion, and Afghanistan the fifth with importing $2.2 billion, Mir-Ashrafi announced, and named gasoline, natural gas, polyethylene, propane, and pistachio as Iran’s major exported products during the past year.

He further named Iran’s top sources of non-oil imports in the said time, as China with exporting $9.7 billion worth of products to the Islamic Republic, the UAE with $9.6 billion, Turkey with $4.3 billion, India with $2.1 billion, and Germany with $1.8 billion, respectively, and mentioned corn, cellphone, rice, oil meal, and oilseeds, wheat, and raw oil as the major imported items.

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Ruhollah Latifi said that the trade between Iran and the world last month stood at 8.452m tons worth $5.378b as Iran’s exports stood at $3.323b and its imports in the same period were around $2.05b.

He added that the data shows that Iran’s exports last month without any decline faced 9.5 percent growth in terms of weight and 54 percent in terms of value. He admitted that the country’s exports in the preceding month of Tir faced 14 percent decline in weight and 9 percent in value.

Latifi reiterated that China was the top destination for Iran’s exports last month by importing 2.436m tons of goods worth $1.505b from Iran which shows 12 percent fall in weight and 20 percent growth in value.

He also said that exports to Iraq last month faced 18 percent decline in weight and 27 percent in value comparing to the preceding year as the country has purchased 1.083m tons of goods worth $346m from Iran.

The UAE with importing goods worth $285m, Turkey with $184m and Afghanistan with $127m have been among the other top destinations for Iran’s exports in the past month.

On the volume and details of imports, he said the imports fell by 36 percent in weight and 26 percent in value last month but comparing to the preceding month of Tir, it faced 68 percent decline in weight and 53 percent in value.

He said China was the major exporting country to Iran last month by exporting 127,000 tons of goods worth $476m which shows 62 percent decline in weight and 56 percent in value. Turkey, Germany and Switzerland were the other top exporters to Iran in the past month.

On the transit of goods in month of Mordad, Latifi said some 974,000 tons of goods were transited which showed 94 percent growth.

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Speaking to ILNA, Marjan Faqih Nasiri said that the value of the foreign trade of the country in the non-oil imports and exports has declined from $105.9b per year with average 3.9 percent annual decrease to $73.9b last year, and the figures show the national foreign trade has seen contraction in a ten-year period.

On the trend of the national trade in the last decade, she said according to Iran’s Customs Administration, the value of non-oil foreign trade of the country with an average of 3.9 percent annual decrease has slumped from $105.9b in 2011 to $73.9b in 2021, therefore, in a ten-year period, the country has witnessed a contraction in its foreign trade which does not match its macro plans and goals regarding the increase of trade in accordance with the economic growth.

She added that this downward trend in the national trade has always been affected by the ups and downs and international turbulences especially after the U.S. maximum sanctions. Faqih Nasiri noted that sanctions in 2011 led to a strong slump in the exports of goods like chemical and petrochemical products, oil products and dried fruits as well as restrictions on imports due to the problem in transaction of forex, and all these factors led to the decrease in the foreign trade as the foreign trade volume fell to $83.9b in 2014 which is considered the lowest figure in the preceding five years before the JCPOA deal.

Faqih Nasiri noted that after the JCPOA in July 2015, the foreign trade faced upward trend as the trade volume faced the average 10-percent annual growth in the next two years and the trade volume touched $101.5b. So stepping up the sanctions had an important role in restricting the foreign trade, she added.

She also said that the U.S. pullout of the JCPOA in May 2018 and increasing restrictions especially in the fields of transferring forex led to more contraction in the national foreign trade. The decrease in the forex resources being earned through exports actually affected the imports, she said, adding that imports increased by 1.2 percent despite 7 percent decrease in the non-oil exports and considering the provision of the national needs and managing the domestic market.

Faqih Nasiri went on to say that the outbreak of the coronavirus affected the world trade and actually worsened the condition in our national economy but sanctions made the effects of the virus be worse in our country, and since two years ago, plans for developing exports have been focused on 15 neighboring countries as well as India and China.

She also blamed the problems for transfer of forex for boosting the trade, adding that all efforts to unblock the assets have been in vain.

She reiterated that the country needs removal of sanctions for revival of its foreign trade and expressed her views for improving the trade.

Faqih Nasiri said that after the increase of sanctions, all plans for developing exports were focused on 15 neighboring countries as well as India and China. She added that these countries accounted for 87 percent of Iran’s exports. She said last year, the value of the exports to the neighboring countries was over $20b and exports to India and China were some $10b while the demands of 15 neighboring countries for imports are over $1,000b which should be taken into consideration for reinforcing the presence in those markets.

She reiterated that the neighboring countries need imports of oil and gas products as well as plastic but Iran has met only 10 percent of their demands, and therefore, Iran should work more on these fields for active presence in those states.

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