Iran and the 27 member states of the European Union traded €357.01 million worth of goods in January 2022, registering a 30% growth compared with last year's corresponding period.
Data released by Eurostat's database show Germany was the top trading partner of Iran in the EU region during the period, as the two countries exchanged €131.54 million worth of goods, 16.46% higher than the year before.
Italy came next with €39.05 million worth of trade with Iran. A year-on-year comparison of trade volume indicates a 0.72% decline.
The Netherlands with €37.41 million (up 20.79%) and Belgium with €23.09 million (up 42.15%) were Iran's other major European trade partners.
Croatia registered the highest growth of 216.69% in trade with Iran during the period under review and was followed by Estonia with 95.64%.
A directorate of the European Commission located in Luxembourg, Eurostat’s 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.
Organizations in different countries that cooperate with Eurostat are summarized under the concept of European Statistical System.
Iran exported €69.6 million worth of commodities to EU during the period, indicating a 48.91% growth year-on-year.
Germany with €23.42 million, Italy with €14.06 million, the Netherlands with €5.3 million, Romania with €5.2 million and Belgium with €3.73 million were Iran’s main export destinations.
Iran’s imports from the EU member states grew by 13.36% YOY to €287.41 million. Germany accounted for the largest share of exports with €108.13 million, up 13.36% YOY, followed by Italy (€24.99 million), the Netherlands (€32.11 million) and Belgium (€19.36 million).
Past Trade Volume
Iran and the 27 member states of the European Union traded €4.86 billion worth of goods in 2021, registering a 9.09% growth compared with last year's corresponding period.
The country exported €922.04 million worth of commodities to EU during the period, indicating a 29.32% growth year-on-year. It’s imports from the EU member states grew by 5.24% YOY to €3.94 billion.
Trade between Iran and EU member states stood at €4.24 billion in 2020 to register a 13.35% decline compared with €4.89 billion in 2019.
Iran exported €618.03 million worth of commodities to EU last year, indicating a 7.18% fall compared with €665.8 million in 2019. Its imports from EU dropped by 14.32% to reach €3.62 billion.
Trade between Iran and EU gained momentum after Tehran signed the nuclear deal with six world powers in 2015. The deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action saw years of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic lifted. In exchange, the country agreed to limit the scope of its nuclear program. JCPOA was implemented in 2016.
However, in 2018, Washington unilaterally quit JCPOA that it had signed with five other countries and Iran. The US then reimposed sanctions against Tehran, leading to a decline in Iran’s foreign trade, including with the EU.
A series of talks have been held in Vienna, Austria, for the past months to revive JCPOA.
Iranian senior diplomat, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Monday that the United States is responsible for the halt in talks.
“If the White House responds logically to Iran's reasonable demands, which are approved by the P4+1 group, Iran will be ready to return to Vienna,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
What is happening in Vienna is because of the approach adopted by the American side, he said, adding that Washington is trying to tie the remaining issues to internal affairs.
Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also told his Omani counterpart that Iran is ready for a good and lasting agreement, but the American side, with some excessive demands, has been responsible for prolonging the negotiations.
“The United States still believes there is an opportunity to overcome the remaining differences with Iran in talks over its nuclear program,” US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said on Monday.
