Iran’s non-oil foreign trade stood at $7.45 billion in the month ending March 20 compared with $6.81 billion in the preceding month, indicating a $641 million or 9.4% increase month-on-month, says Rouhollah Latifi, the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration
Non-oil exports hit $3.32 billion and imports reached $4.13 billion, indicating a month-on-month increase of 6% and 12% respectively.
“Top export destinations during the month under review were China with 2.06 million tons of non-oil goods worth $855 million, Iraq with 1.56 million tons worth $516 million, the UAE with 1.29 million tons with $454 million, Turkey with 422,000 tons worth $281 million and Afghanistan with 571,000 tons worth $199 million,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Exports to China increased by 20% in tonnage and 1% in value compared with the previous month, exports to Iraq increased by 8% in value, exports to the UAE jumped by 11% in weight and 3% in value, exports to Turkey increased by 155% in weight and 35% in value, and exports to Afghanistan improved by 7.5% in value month-on-month.
“Exports to these five countries amounted to 5.91 million tons of non-oil goods worth $2.3 billion. They accounted for 64% of Iran’s total exports in terms of weight and 69% of the country’s overall exports in terms of value,” the IRICA spokesperson said.
Iran’s top trading partners in imports were the UAE with 551,000 tons of goods with $1.19 billion, China with 301,000 tons of goods worth $965 million, Turkey with 436,000 tons of goods worth $506 million, Germany with 97,000 tons of goods worth $172 million and India with 99,000 tons of goods worth $138 million.
Imports from the UAE rose by 48% in weight and 13% in value compared with the preceding month while imports from China declined by 2% in weight and increased by 6% in value, imports from Turkey went up by 21% in weight and 18% in value, imports from Germany decreased by 48% in weight and 18% in value, and imports from India dropped by 55% in weight and 31% in value month-on-month.
“These five countries exported a total of 1.48 million tons of goods worth $2.97 billion to Iran during the month under review to account for 56% of the country’s overall imports in terms of weight and 72% of its imports in value,” Latifi said.
12-Month Data
Iran’s foreign non-oil trade stood at 145.7 million tons worth $73 billion in the last fiscal year (March 2020-21).
According to Mehdi Mirashrafi, the head of IRICA, exports accounted for 112 million tons worth $34.52 billion and imports constituted 34.4 million tons worth $38.5 billion of the sum.
Iran’s main exports included gasoline, natural gas, polyethylene, propane and pistachio, with the latter alone earning $1.2 billion.
“Iran’s main export destinations were China with 26.6 million tons worth $8.9 billion, Iraq with 25.6 million tons worth $7.3 billion, the UAE with 15.2 million tons worth $4.6 billion, Turkey with 6.3 million tons worth $2.5 billion and Afghanistan with 7 million tons worth $2.2 billion. These five countries imported more than 80 million tons of non-oil goods worth $25.7 billion,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
China, Iran’s biggest trading partner, accounted for 26% of Iran's total non-oil exports, as 26.58 million tons of non-oil goods worth $8.95 billion were shipped from Iran to China during the period. Pistachio, nuts, minerals, construction materials, methanol, carpet, iron ore, glassware and fruits were the main types of goods exported from Iran to China in the last fiscal year.
Imports from China totaled 3.54 million tons worth $9.76 billion during the year to March 20, 2021, to account for 10.6% of the total volume of Iran's imports and 25.3% of the total value of imports during the period. Industrial machinery and raw materials, medical equipment, paper, wood, textile, auto parts and sports equipment were Iran's main imports from the South Asian state in the fiscal 2020-21.
“Iran’s foreign trade reduced by 25 million tons due to sanctions and the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said, adding that the country’s trade deficit stood at $4 billion.
Mirashrafi noted that 23.1 million tons of essential goods, including corn, cellphones, rice, soybean meal, oilseeds, wheat and unprocessed oils worth $12 billion were imported during the period under review.
Iran imported 3.5 million tons of essential goods worth $9.7 billion from China, 5 million tons worth $9.6 billion from the UAE, $4.3 billion from Turkey, 2.2 million tons worth $2.1 billion from India and 1.2 million tons worth $1.8 billion from Germany in the year to March 20.
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
“Global trade has dropped by 30% following the outbreak of coronavirus and Iran was no exception. Seven countries, including China, Iraq, Afghanistan, the UAE and India, account for 75% of our foreign trade. Over 50% of Iran’s non-oil exports are headed to Iraq and China, all indicative of our export vulnerability," Majid Reza Hariri, the chairman of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, was quoted as saying recently.
“Natural gas, gas condensates, petrochemicals and unprocessed minerals make up 70% of Iran's exports. Covid-19 has pushed down the demand for and the prices of these exporting items,” he said.
“For our production lines to remain operational, about $45 billion worth of essential goods, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment need to be imported. Given the restrictions placed on oil sales, this figure seems to be unreachable.”
Soltani, a former deputy head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, says China is most likely the least affected economy by the pandemic and since it is Iran’s top trading partner, exports to this country will hopefully remain unaffected.
“Yet, the outbreak of Covid-19 as well as the nosedive in oil prices will make Iraq, our second biggest export destination, very cautious and we will be facing limitations on the commodities we can export to the neighboring country,” he said.
