Iran and Turkey traded $1.41 billion worth of goods in the first three months of 2022 to register a 43.23% year-on-year rise, latest data by the Turkish Statistical Institute show.
Iranian exports reached $560.76 million, up 16.87% year-on-year, while imports grew by 68.27% to $849.58 million.
Bilateral trade stood at $519.7 million in March, up 50.08% YOY, with Turkish exports at $188.09 million, up 29.33% YOY, and Iranian exports at $331.61 million, registering a 65.11% growth year-on-year.
Iran and Turkey traded $4.77 billion worth of goods in 2021 to register a 69.12% rise compared with the preceding year. Iranian exports stood at $2.52 billion, up 145.18% year-on-year, while imports grew by 25.5% to $2.25 billion.
Monthly trade between Iran and Turkey fell below $300 million in September 2020, mostly due to a decline in Iran's exports to the neighboring country, following Covid-19 restrictions. However, trade started to improve in December, raising hopes for recovery from the impact of the pandemic.
Bilateral trade stood at $3.43 billion in 2020, registering a decline of 45.82% compared with 2019. Iran exported $1.192 billion worth of goods to Turkey in 2020 to register a 66.9% year-on-year decline while imports from Turkey stood at $2.245 billion, down 17.97% YOY.
Turkey’s aggregate value of exports amounted to $169.482 billion, down 6.3% while imports hit $219.397 billion in 2020, up 4.3%, compared with 2019.
Bazargan in Maku County is the most important Iranian land border for importing and exporting from and to Turkey. The city borders both Iraq and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Its customs office, established in the fiscal 1926-27, is the only international border between Iran and Turkey that works round the clock.
Agreement to Boost Ties Signed on ECO Summit Sidelines
Turkey and Iran signed an agreement to improve relations in a meeting held at the 15th Economic Cooperation Organization Summit held in Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat in late November.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to convene a high commission meeting during Erdogan's next visit to Iran's capital Tehran, Daily Sabah reported.
Describing relations between the two countries as "historic", Amir-Abdollahian said they have agreed to discuss the comprehensive improvement of relations and the removal of all obstacles.
Raisi and Erdogan held a closed-door meeting as part of the summit.
Preferential Trade Agreement
Finalizing ongoing talks with Iran for the expansion of the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement is a priority for Turkey, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fatih Donmez said.
“The trade deal came into effect on Jan. 1, 2015, and negotiations have been ongoing to expand the pact by increasing the number of products traded between Turkey and Iran,” Donmez told the virtual 28th Turkey-Iran Economic Commission convened earlier this year.
Customs cooperation was another topic up for discussion at the meeting. Both sides agreed to an electronic data interchange protocol to carry out a simplified customs frontier project and the mutual recognition of an Authorized Economic Operator project.
These projects will have a positive impact on foreign trade by enabling easier and faster trade while eliminating bureaucratic procedures based on mutual trust, he added.
Both sides agreed to assign technical teams in the near future to put the plans into action.
“The two sides also agreed to increase fairs and exchange trade delegations to show our [Turkey’s] concrete support and the great importance attached to cooperation between private sector representatives,” he said.
“Support for the activities of the Turkey-Iran Business Council and other private sector establishments, notably small- and medium-sized enterprises, would also continue after the pandemic.”
Consequently, both sides agreed to hold talks on developing an “action plan” between the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey and its Iranian equivalent, Iran Small Industries and Industrial Parks Organization.
Donmez concluded that the commission also addressed other areas of cooperation, including health, energy, transportation, education, environment, agriculture and forestry.
Most Visitors, Home Buyers in Turkey Iranians
Iranians topped the list of visitors to Turkey during the first three months of 2022 as 502,247 stayed in the neighboring country during the period to account for 10.24% of all foreign visitors.
Iranians were followed by 418,420 Germans (8.53%), 408,409 Bulgarians (8.335), 360,764 Russians (7.36%) and 208,087 Iraqis (4.24%).
Tourists from other nations numbered 3 million over the three-month period.
A total of 274,815 Iranian visitors also topped the list of tourists staying in Turkey in March 2022, according to new data released by the Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The figure accounted for 13.22% of all tourists visiting Turkey during the period and shows a 284.26% surge compared with the similar period of last year.
Iranians were followed by Germans with 187,185 (9% of all tourists), Bulgarians with 169,640 (8.16%), Russians with 114,384 (5.5%) and Britons with 87,349 tourists. The number of tourists from other countries stood at 1.24 million in March, Ktb.gove.tr reported.
By purchasing 784 homes in Turkey, Iranians were also the biggest foreign buyers of real estate in the neighboring country in March 2022, data released by the Turkish Statistical Institute show.
Iranians were followed by Iraqis with 741 purchases, Russians with 547, Germans with 244, Kazakhs with 241, Afghans with 214, Ukrainians with 168, Kuwaitis with 156, Yemenis with 152 and the British with 140.
Home purchases by Iranians in the neighboring country increased by 18.25% in March compared with the similar period of last year.
Foreigners bought a total of 5,567 homes in Turkey in March, registering a 31% rise compared with March 2021. The figure accounted for 4.1% of total home sales in Turkey.
Of the overall sum, 2,245 homes were located in Istanbul, 434 in Antalya and 347 in Ankara.
Around 134,170 real-estate deals were made in Turkey during the month, indicating a 20.6% growth compared with March 2021.
