Iran's non-oil trade with Caspian Sea littoral states reached 4.16 million tons worth $1.8 billion during the first seven months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Oct. 22), according to data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Russia was Iran’s main trading partner among Caspian states with 2.46 million tons worth $1.17 billion during the period under review. It was followed by Azerbaijan with 480,995 tons worth $300 million, Turkmenistan with 826,317 tons worth $196.25 million and Kazakhstan with 391,304 tons worth $129.74 million.
Iran’s exports to the countries under review hit 2.14 million tons worth $859.69 million during the period.
Russia was Iran’s biggest export destination among Caspian states with 595,228 tons worth $317.36 million, followed by Azerbaijan with 465,603 tons worth $272.96 million, Turkmenistan with 796,502 tons worth $174.16 million and Kazakhstan with 281,783 tons worth $95.21 million.
Imports from the four countries hit 2.02 million tons worth $936.48 million.
Russia was the top importer to Iran in terms of value among Caspian states with 1.86 million tons worth $852.82 million.
Kazakhstan followed Russia with 109,520 tons worth $34.53 million, Azerbaijan with 15,392 tons worth $27.04 million and Turkmenistan with 29,815 tons worth $22.08 million.
Non-oil trade with Caspian states hit 6.24 million tons worth $2 billion in the fiscal 2020-21.
Iran’s total non-oil foreign trade hit 98.7 million tons worth $54.8 billion during the seven months under review (March 21-Oct. 22) to register an increase of 16.5% in weight and 43% in value compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to Mehdi Mirashrafi, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, exports stood at 75.2 million tons worth $27.1 billion, which shows a year-on-year growth rate of 15% and 47% in weight and value respectively.
“Iran’s imports hit 23.5 million tons worth $27.7 billion, registering an increase of 21% in weight and 38% in value compared with last year’s same period. Essential goods, machinery, industrial parts, raw materials and intermediate goods accounted for the lion’s share of imports,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal of IRICA.
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
The main export destinations included China (16.9 million tons of goods worth $7.7 billion), Iraq (19.7 million tons worth $5.5 billion), Turkey (11 million tons worth $3.4 billion), the UAE (6.6 million tons worth $2.6 billion) and Afghanistan (2.8 million tons worth $1.1 billion).
Top exports mainly included natural gas, methanol, polyethylene, semi-finished steel products, liquefied polyethylene, steel ingots, rebar, urea, copper cathode and bitumen.
“Essential goods accounted for 16.6 million tons worth $11 billion of total imports, which indicate an increase of 71% in weight and 40% in value YOY. Subsidized foreign currency at the rate of 42,000 rials per US dollar were allocated to import 14.4 million tons of essential goods worth $8.8 billion, registering a 61% rise in weight and a 32% increase in value YOY,” the IRICA chief said.
The main exporters to Iran were the UAE (6.9 million tons of goods worth $8.6 billion), China (1.9 million tons worth $6.1 billion), Turkey (2.5 million tons worth $2.9 billion), Germany (512,000 tons worth $1 billion) and Switzerland (1.2 million tons worth $1 billion).
Cellphones, feed corn, wheat, soybeans, sunflower oil, soymeal, barley, rice, sugar and palm oil were the main imports during the period.
“A total of 6.94 million tons of foreign commodities were transported through Iran during the period, indicating an 81% year-on-year rise,” Mirashrafi said.
Rise in Iran’s Share of Caspian Sea Transport
Iran’s share of marine transportation in the Caspian Sea increased to 38.9% during the last Iranian year (March 2020-21) from 34.9% of the year before, Mehr News Agency reported.
The country transported 1.92 million tons of freight to ports located along the Caspian Sea during the period.
Among Iranian shipping companies, Khazar Sea Shipping Lines Company ranked first with 1.5 million tons of transported goods.
Other Iranian companies transported an aggregate of 424,993 tons during the period.
Russia had a 59.9% share with 2.96 million tons of freight transport.
Kazakhstan transported 35,590 tons (0.7%), Azerbaijan 12,834 tons (0.3%) and other countries 11,470 tons (0.2%).
Overall, marine transportation in the Caspian Sea in the year to March 20, 2021, stood at 4.94 million tons, registering a 21.2% decline compared with the 6.27 million tons of the year before.
The decline was due to restrictions put in place in the region to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
“In a similar measure, TPO signed an MoU with Khazar Sea Shipping Lines over two years ago, but that agreement was not as detailed and well-planned as the one signed this time, which shows the organization is determined to play its role in increasing foreign trade,” the CEO of KSSO said.
Davoud Tafti added that Khazar Sea Shipping Lines has the capacity to transport 200,000 tons of cargo per year.
The company has 23 vessels under its name, 15 of which can carry containers. Its container loading and unloading capacity amounts to around 6,000 TEUs per year.
“Infrastructures are ready for goods transit from Iran's southern ports to the north and through Caspian Sea,” the CEO told Trend News Agency in an interview.
"We are interacting with southern ports, commodity owners and company branches in China, Russia, South Korea, Singapore and India for marketing cargo transportation in the International North-South Transport Corridor and Iran's East-West Transit Corridor to Eurasian countries," he explained.
