Iran's exports to 27 European Union member states increased by 39.11% to around €55.7 million in August 2020, with a leap in the Netherlands' imports from Iran.
European states collectively imported €495.56 million worth of goods from Iran during the first eight months of 2020 to register a 4.6% growth compared with last year's corresponding period.
Eurostat's latest figures show that the Netherlands imported a total of €95 million worth of goods from Iran during the eight-month period, posting a 714% increase compared with the same period of last year.
The country's imports from Iran increased by nearly 11-fold in August to stand at €15.4 million.
Germany, however, remained the leading European destination for Iranian goods during the eight months, importing €183.6 million worth of goods from Iran, up 38% year-on-year. Iran's exports to Germany amounted to €18.1 million in August, 24.7% higher than August 2019.
Italy ranked third in terms of imports from Iran, with €68.7 million worth of imports in eight months, down 37.8%. Spain and Belgium came next with €39.5 million and €24.4 million respectively.
Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Finland posted the highest growth in total value of imports from Iran, with 1541%, 714% and 142%, respectively.
Compared to the Netherlands, however, exports to Luxembourg were insignificant.
Iran's main exported goods to the EU were edible fruit and nuts; peel of citrus fruits or melons worth €165.49 million; other nuts, fresh or dried, shelled or peeled worth €136.8 million; mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances and mineral waxes with €82.98 million; petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, and crude worth €81.3 million; plastics and articles thereof worth €39.45 million; coffee, tea, maté and spices worth €23.995 million; ginger, saffron, turmeric, thyme, bay leaves, curry and other spices worth €23.26 million; and organic chemicals worth €21.42 million.
Trade With EU Tops $2.9b
Iran’s trade with 27 member states of the European Union stood at €2.95 billion during the first eight months of 2020, indicating a 12.45% decrease compared with last year’s corresponding period.
Iran’s top five trade partners over the period were Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and France with €1.19 billion, €448 million, €329.8 million, €179.1 million and €170 million worth of exchanges respectively.
Iran’s trade with Luxembourg (€1.04 million), Slovakia (€8.1 million) and Bulgaria (€91.4 million) saw the highest increase during the period–184.9%, 181.89% and 57.99% respectively.
Iran’s sharpest trade decline was recorded by Finland (87.6%), Ireland (82.7%), Croatia (76.2%) and Latvia (75.6%).
August figures also show that trade between Iran and 27 EU states declined by 33.6% to €306.4 million.
Germany was Iran's top European trading partner in August, despite a 32% YOY decline. The two countries exchanged €105.8 million worth of goods during the month under review.
Italy and the Netherlands came next with their monthly Iran trade amounting to €57.7 million (down 47%) and €38.4 million (down 23%) respectively.
Luxembourg, Slovakia, Lithuania, Denmark and Portugal posted highest increases in the total value of their trade with Iran during the month under review.
Croatia recorded an 85.11% decline in monthly trade with Iran, marking the highest decline among European states during the month under review.
Decline in Imports
During the first eight months of the year, more than €2.45 billion worth of goods were imported from EU countries to Iran, marking a 15.63% decline, compared with the same period in 2019.
More than $1 billion worth of goods were imported from Germany, higher than other EU states. The figure indicates a year-on-year growth of 4.3%.
Slovakia, Belgium and Portugal recorded the highest growth in exporting goods to Iran during the seven months, with 331%, 132.07% and 31% respectively.
Among Iran's major trade partners, France registered the sharpest decline in exports to the country at 37.8% compared with the same period of last year.
From a monthly perspective, more than €250.7 million worth of goods were exported to Iran from EU in August, indicating a 40.56% decline compared with €421 million in August 2019.
The imports mainly included nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, as well as parts thereof worth €546.82 million; pharmaceutical products worth €33.44 million; cereals worth €282.73 million; optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus, parts and accessories thereof worth €248.7 million; wheat worth €201.7 million; and human and animal blood prepared for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses, antisera and other blood fractions and immunological products, vaccines, toxins, cultures of microorganisms (excluding yeasts) and similar products worth €156 million.
Other imports included medicines consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses worth €133 million; electrical machinery, equipment and parts thereof, sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles worth €112 million; instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical, dental or veterinary science worth €96 million; and maize or corn worth €7602 million.
Miscellaneous chemical products worth €69.9 million; taps, valves and similar appliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like, including pressure-reducing valves and thermostatically controlled valves; parts thereof worth €69.4 million; oilseeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants, straw and fodder worth €67.8 million; organic chemicals worth €66.8 million; and seeds, fruits and spores, for sowing (excluding leguminous vegetables and sweet corn), coffee, tea, maté and spices, cereals, oilseeds and seeds and fruit used primarily in perfumery, or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes worth €60.3 million were other major groups of imported products.
