A total of 25.09 million tons of essential goods worth $15.5 billion were imported into Iran during the last fiscal year (March 2019-20) to register a 20.77% and 17.13% increase in weight and value respectively, compared with the year before, according to the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs administration, Rouhollah Latifi.
“This amount of essential goods imports accounted for 71% and 35% of the volume and value of last year’s total imports respectively,” the official was quoted as saying by ISNA.
“The imported essential commodities included wheat, sugar, corn, rubber, barley, processed tea, rice, different kinds of seeds, red meat, soybeans, pulses, paper, fertilizers and industrial machinery.”
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
Seven ships carrying basic goods unloaded their cargoes at Shahid Beheshti Port of Chabahar simultaneously on Saturday.
According to Director General of Sistan-Baluchestan Ports and Maritime Organization Behrouz Aqaei, the volume of cargoes discharged in the port, including wheat, rice and barley, was at 340,000 tons.
“The volume of loading and unloading operations at the port in the current month [from March 20 to April 19] shows a 30% rise compared with the same period of last year,” he said.
Trade During Holiday
A total of 833,000 tons of essential goods were transported from five main Iranian ports to the mainland from March 15 to April 4 (during the Iranian New Year holidays) by 35,000 trucks, the deputy head of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization said earlier this month.
Mehran Qorbani added that Imam Khomeini Port accounted for 53-55% of total transited goods, Amirabad Port 16%, Chabahar Port 10% and ports of Bandar Anzali and Astara constituted the rest.
Noting that only 45% of the country’s freight transit fleet were active during the holidays, the official said 46 cargo ships were scheduled to enter the country’s ports from March 15 to April 20, IRNA reported.
Iran traded 27.61 million tons of different types of commodities worth $14.43 billion from Jan. 21 to April 3, according to Latifi.
Exports during the 73 days accounted for 20.51 million tons worth $6.5 billion to register a 20% and 27% decline in tonnage and value respectively compared with last year’s corresponding period.
“The decline is due to the spread of new coronavirus, restrictions on land borders, decrease in consumption of some food products and a decline in the global prices of oil derivatives”, he told Mehr News Agency.
During the 73-day period, the country imported 7.1 million tons of goods worth $7.92 billion, indicating a 10.3% and 7.5% rise in tonnage and value respectively.
Major commodities imported during the period included raw materials, essential goods and machinery.
Non-Oil Foreign Trade in Fiscal 2019-20
Iran’s non-oil foreign trade stood at $85 billion in the fiscal 2019-20, of which exports accounted for $41.3 billion and imports for $43.7 billion, according to Mehdi Mirashrafi, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Oil-based products and byproducts as well as petrochemical products are included in IRICA's non-oil export data. In fact, petrochemicals and gas condensates constitute the largest share of total exports.
Noting that Iran traded over 169 million tons of goods last year, the official said exports weighed 133.9 million tons—three times as much as the imports in weight and about 13.5% more than the previous year.
In terms of value, however, exports show a 7% decline year-on-year, he added.
“Imports reached 35.3 million tons in fiscal 2019-20, indicating a 9.3% growth year-on-year. A $2.4-billion trade deficit was registered for the country during the period. Raw materials, machinery and intermediate goods accounted for 85% of the imports,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
“Petrochemicals made up the lion’s share of exports, which indicates that the country is moving from its dependency on selling unprocessed goods toward exporting petroleum products. However, the fact that each ton of Iran’s imports was valued at $1,220 while each ton of exports was worth only $309 indicates that exports of unprocessed goods remain a challenge for Iran’s economy."
The IRICA chief said China was Iran’s main export destination, purchasing $9.5 billion worth of non-oil goods from us last year, followed by Iraq with $8.9 billion, Turkey with $5.4 billion, the UAE with $4.5 billion and Afghanistan with $2.3 billion.
“Our top five partners in exports were Asian countries and mostly our neighbors. Other countries imported $10.9 billion worth of Iran’s non-oil goods last year,” Mirashrafi was quoted as saying by ILNA.
China was Iran’s top trading partner in terms of imports. The Asian country sold $11.2 billion worth of non-oil goods to Iran last year. The UAE with $8.9 billion, Turkey $4.9 billion, India $3.6 billion and Germany with $2.1 billion worth of exports were Iran’s other key trading partners.
The imports chiefly included materials used in the manufacture of livestock feed, essential goods, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals.
Last year’s imports of livestock feed and essential goods were 3 million tons more compared with the year before.
IRICA’s numbers show intermediate goods worth $29.7 billion and capital goods worth $5.9 billion were imported into the country last year. Consumer goods constituted 8% of total imports last year, according to the official.
Imports of essential goods have taken center-stage amid unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States. The spread of the new coronavirus has also exacerbated the need for these goods.
