Iran and the European Union’s 27 member states traded €4.86 billion worth of goods in 2021, registering a 9.09% growth compared with the year before.
Bilateral trade grew by 20.07% in December to hit €530.15 million.
Data released by Eurostat's database show Germany was the top trading partner of Iran in the EU region during the period, as the two countries exchanged €1.72 billion worth of goods, 4.57% less than the year before.
Italy came next with €629.4 million worth of trade with Iran. A year-on-year comparison of trade volume indicates a 5.78% decline.
The Netherlands with €482.09 million (up 1.08%), Spain with €333.79 million (up 27.27%) and Belgium with €295.29 million (up 33.41%) were Iran's other major European trade partners.
Romania registered the highest growth of 405.47% in trade with Iran during the period under review. It was followed by Malta with 390.87% and Estonia with 209.97%.
Eurostat is a directorate of the European Commission located in Luxembourg. Its main responsibilities are to provide statistical information to EU institutions and promote the harmonization of statistical methods across its member states and candidates for accession.
Organizations in different countries that cooperate with Eurostat are summarized under the concept of European Statistical System.
Iran exported €922.04 million worth of commodities to EU during the period, indicating a 29.32% growth year-on-year.
Germany with €274.95 million, Italy with €178.94 million, Spain with €97.37 million, Romania with €67.8 million and Belgium with €67.34 million were Iran’s main export destinations.
Iran exported €89.16 million worth of goods to EU partners in December, up 64.11% YOY.
The main export destinations included Germany (€26.49 million), Italy (€15.6 million), Spain (€12.36 million), Romania (€6.07 million) and Belgium (€4.66 million).
Iran’s imports from EU member states grew by 5.24% YOY to €3.94 billion. Germany accounted for the largest share of exports with €1.45 billion, down 6.06% YOY, followed by Italy (€450.05 million), the Netherlands (€443.18 million), Spain (€236.41 million) and Belgium (€227.95 million).
Imports from EU grew by 13.89% YOY to €440.99 million in December.
Trade between Iran and EU member states stood at €4.24 billion in 2020 to register a 13.35% decline compared with €4.89 billion in 2019.
Iran exported €618.03 million worth of commodities to EU in 2020, indicating a 7.18% fall compared with €665.8 million in 2019. Its imports from EU dropped by 14.32% to reach €3.62 billion.
Trade between Iran and EU gained momentum after Tehran signed the nuclear deal with six world powers in 2015. The deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action saw years of international sanctions against the Islamic Republic lifted. In exchange, the country agreed to limit the scope of its nuclear program. JCPOA was implemented in 2016.
However, in 2018, Washington unilaterally quit JCPOA and reimposed sanctions against Tehran, leading to a decline in Iran’s foreign trade, including with EU.
Talks are ongoing in Vienna, Austria, to revive JCPOA.
Iran has signaled "significant progress" in talks on reviving a stalled accord on its nuclear program but President Ebrahim Raisi again insisted that the US must lift its crippling sanctions on the country.
Iran's president made the statement ahead of a summit of natural gas exporting nations in Qatar, Reuters reported.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said on Monday "significant progress" has been made and the number of outstanding obstacles had been "considerably reduced".
"But the problems that remain are most difficult, the most difficult and most serious to be resolved," it added.
Talks on reviving JCPOA have been held in the Austrian capital since November, involving Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia directly and the US indirectly.
After arriving in Doha and meeting Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Raisi again took aim at the US sanctions that have ravaged his country's economy.
"The United States must show their desire to lift the main sanctions," he said.
