Trade between Iran and EU member states during January-May 2020 stood at €1.83 billion to register a 6.49% decline compared with last year’s corresponding period, latest data provided by the European Statistical Office show.
Germany, Italy and the Netherlands were Iran’s top three trading partners in the European bloc with bilateral exchanges standing at €782.22 million (up 24.69% YOY), €254.41 million (down 28.21% YOY) and €187.44 million (down 6.1% YOY), respectively.
Iran’s trade with Luxembourg (€720,939), Slovakia (€5.74 million) and Bulgaria (€69.03 million) increased by 457.25%, 162.78% and 102.27% respectively year-on-year—the highest among EU states.
Trade with Malta (€1,553), Finland (€1.94 million), Ireland (€4.39 million), Latvia (€380,681) and Greece (€8.22 million) saw the sharpest declines of 98.95%, 86.39%, 85.44%, 75.84% and 57.28% respectively.
Eurostat is a directorate of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide statistical information to EU institutions and promote the harmonization of statistical methods across its member states and candidates for accession.
The organizations cooperating with Eurostat in different countries are summarized under the European Statistical System.
Exports Fall 3.43%
Iran exported €276.69 million worth of commodities to the EU during the five-month period, indicating a 3.43% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
The main export destinations over the period were Germany (€85.16 million), the Netherlands (€49.77 million), Italy (€44.08 million), Spain (€28.1 million) and Belgium (€17.76 million).
Iran’s exports to Luxembourg (€412,079), the Netherlands (€49.77 million) and Finland (€61,327) experienced the highest year-on-year growth rates of 1,283%, 598.49% and 155.72% respectively.
This is while exports to Malta (none), Czech Republic (€171,415) and Hungary (€577,796) fell by 100%, 74.29% and 71.94% YOY respectively, which are the sharpest among EU member states.
The exported goods mainly included edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruits or melons worth €96.25 million; mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances and mineral waxes with €41.88 million; plastics and articles thereof worth €26.3 million; coffee, tea, maté and spices worth €18.02 million; iron and steel worth €12.58 million; animal products, not elsewhere specified or included worth €9.6 million; lac, gums, resins, vegetable saps and extracts worth €9.31 million; pharmaceutical products worth €8.8 million; fertilizers worth €8.48 million and carpets and other textile floor coverings worth €7.99 million.
Imports Fall 7.02%
Imports from the EU dropped by 7.02% to stand at €1.55 billion during the five months under review.
The top five exporters from the European bloc to Iran were Germany with €697.06 million, Italy with €210.32 million, the Netherlands with €137.67 million, France with €88.05 million and Spain with €82.16 million worth of shipments to Iran.
Slovakia with €3.79 million, Bulgaria with €60.61 million and Luxembourg with €308,860 were the EU countries whose exports to Iran saw the highest YOY increase of 323.91%, 243.73% and 201.15% respectively.
Malta with €1,553, Finland with €1.18 million and Latvia with €73,773 experienced the sharpest YOY decline in exports to Iran (98.7%, 91.55% and 85.94% respectively).
The imports mainly included nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, as well as parts thereof worth €326.53 million; cereals worth €277.98 million; pharmaceutical products worth €198.26 million; optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus; parts and accessories thereof worth €150.2 million; electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles worth €64.64 million; and oilseeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder worth €41.58 million.
Other major groups of imported products included miscellaneous chemical products worth €41.02 million; railroad or tramway locomotives, rolling-stock and parts thereof; railroad or tramway track fixtures and fittings and parts thereof; mechanical (including electro-mechanical) traffic signaling equipment of all kinds with €35.74 million; organic chemicals worth €34.9 million; plastics and articles thereof worth €28.2 million; and essential oils and resinoids; perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations worth €22.87 million.
Manmade staple fibers worth €20.38 million; miscellaneous edible preparations worth €20.38 million; tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other coloring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks worth €19.61 million; paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, paper or paperboard worth €14.68 million; tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes worth €12.49 million; albuminoidal substances; modified starches; glues; enzymes with €11.86 million; iron or steel products worth €11.77 million; and live animals worth €10.85 million constituted the remaining imported products.
Monthly Perspective
Iran’s trade with EU member states in May stood at €359.61 million to register a downturn of 18.96% compared with the corresponding month of 2019.
Germany, Italy and Spain were Iran’s top three trading partners in May, with commercial exchanges standing at €159.12 million, €48.44 million and €35.2 million respectively.
Iran’s trade with Luxembourg (€186,450), Portugal (€4.13 million) and Bulgaria (€15.93 million) increased by 111,546%, 385% and 148% respectively year-on-year, marking the highest among EU states.
Trade with Cyprus (none), Finland (€62,382) and Latvia (€11,040) saw the sharpest declines of 100%, 98.34% and 98.31% respectively.
Iran exported €31.18 million worth of commodities to the EU during May, indicating a 40.1% drop compared with last year’s May.
The main export destinations in May were Germany (€12.06 million), Italy (€3.82 million) and Spain (€3.74 million).
Iran’s exports to Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands experienced the highest year-on-year growth rates of 5,783%, 5,228% and 218.92% respectively.
This is while exports to Hungary, Greece and Czech Republic fell by 99.36%, 89.3% and 87.61% YOY respectively, which are the sharpest among EU member states.
Imports from the EU decreased by 16.15% to stand at €328.43 million in May.
The top three exporters from the European bloc to Iran were Germany with €176.06 million, Italy with €44.62 million and the Netherlands with €31.72 million worth of shipments to Iran.
Slovakia with €1.18 million, Romania with €11.03 million and Bulgaria with €8.56 million were the EU countries whose exports to Iran saw the highest YOY increase (4,334%, 678.51% and 173.34% respectively).
Finland with €44,821, Ireland with €175,465 and Latvia with €11,040 experienced the sharpest YOY decline in exports to Iran (98.8%, 98.41% and 97.27% respectively).
