Iran traded 86.84 million tons of goods worth $52.93 billion, excluding crude oil exports, with 15 neighboring countries that share land or sea borders, from the beginning of the current Iranian year on March 21, 2022, to the end of the 11th month of the year on Feb. 19, 2023.
This indicates a 5.87% fall in terms of weight, but a 14.44% rise in terms of value compared with the corresponding period of the year before, new data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.
The UAE was the main trade partner of Iran during the period with 21.99 million tons (up 3.26%) worth $21.75 billion (up 15.71%). It was followed by Turkey with 16.54 million tons (down 11.92%) worth $12.5 billion (up 21.24%) and Iraq with 25.45 million tons (down 16.16%) worth $9.58 billion (up 3.45%).
Iran’s exports to its neighbors stood at 67.49 million tons worth $27.52 billion, registering a 3.93% decline in terms of weight, but a 16.95% rise in value year-on-year.
Iraq was the biggest destination of Iranian exports during the period with 25.29 million tons (down 9.71%) of imports worth $9.38 billion (up 14.13%). It was followed by Turkey with 13.21 million tons (down 13.61%) worth $6.9 billion (up 23.01%) and the UAE with 10.16 million tons (up 3.34%) worth $5.25 billion (up 24.3%).
Imports stood at 19.34 million tons worth $25.4 billion to register a 12.06% decline in terms of weight, but a 11.69% growth in terms of value year-on-year.
The UAE, with 11.82 million tons (up 3.19%) worth $16.49 billion (up 13.22%), was the biggest exporter to Iran followed by Turkey with 3.32 million tons (down 4.19%) worth $5.59 billion (up 19.14%) and Russia with 2.08 million tons (down 35.97%) worth $1.3 billion (down 9.95%).
The above figures on exports and imports show Iran registered a trade surplus of $2.11 billion with its neighbors during the period.
Iran traded a total of 150 million tons of goods worth $102 billion (excluding crude oil exports) with other countries during the 11 months under review, according to IRICA.
The tonnage shows a surplus of 77.7 million tons, but the value registered a surplus of $4.9 billion.
Iran’s exports, excluding crude oil, stood at 111.3 million tons worth $48.8 billion during the period, registering a 1.16% fall in terms of weight, but a 12.22% rise in value year-on-year, according to Mohammad Rezvanifar, the head of IRICA.
The average value of each ton of exports stood at $439 during the period, registering a 13.54% rise compared with $386 in the previous year’s corresponding period.
A total of $21.7 billion of petrochemicals were exported during the period, which accounted for 40.25% of the total exports’ weight and 44.49% of total exports’ value, IRNA reported.
The main exported product was liquefied propane with $6.8 billion, which accounted for 13% and 97% of the total exports’ weight and value, respectively.
China with $13.6 billion was Iran’s main export destination during the period, followed by Iraq with $9.4 billion, Turkey with $6.9 billion, the UAE with $5.3 billion and India with $1.9 billion.
Rezvanifar noted that these five countries accounted for 73.45% and 75.79% of the total weight and value of exports, respectively.
Imports stood at 33.6 million worth $53.7 billion during the 11 months under review, registering an 8.61% decline in terms of weight, but a 15.28% rise in value compared with the corresponding period of last year.
The average value of each ton of imported products during the period hit $1,597, registering a 26.14% increase compared with $1,266 in the same period of last year.
A total of 22.6 million tons of essential goods worth $17.8 billion were imported during the period to register a 16.42% decrease in terms of weight, but a 6.33% increase in terms of value YOY.
Essential goods accounted for 67.13% and 33.8% of the total imports’ weight and value, respectively.
Also known as necessity or basic goods, essential goods refer to products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
Corn, rice, soybeans, wheat, sunflower oil, barley and soymeal were the main imports during the period, together accounting for 56.51% and 20.67% of the total import’s weight and value respectively.
Import of cellphones stood at $2.6 billion to account for 4.85% of the total imports’ value.
The UAE with $16.5 billion was the main exporter to Iran during the period. China with $14.2 billion, Turkey with $5.6 billion, India with $2.6 billion and Germany with $1.8 billion came next. These five countries accounted for 65.18% and 75.77% of the total imports’ weight and value, respectively.
Neighborly Trade in Review
Iran traded 100.13 million tons of goods worth $51.87 billion with 15 neighboring countries during the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), according to Alireza Moqaddesi, the former head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
The tonnage and value of trade registered a 23% and 43% rise respectively compared to the preceding year.
Iran’s exports stood at 75.44 million tons worth $26.03 billion, registering a 12% and 29% rise in weight and value YOY, IRNA reported.
Iraq with $8.9 billion (up 21% YOY) topped the list of export destinations. It was followed by Turkey with $6.1 billion (up 141% YOY), the UAE with $4.9 billion (down 8% YOY), Afghanistan with $1.8 billion (down 20% YOY) and Pakistan with $1.3 billion (up 24% YOY).
Top five export destinations were followed by Oman with $716 million (up 63% YOY), Russia with $579 million (up 15% YOY), Azerbaijan Republic with $565 million (up 11% YOY), Turkmenistan with $335 million (up 144% YOY), Armenia with $304 million (no significant YOY change), Kazakhstan with $187 million (up 11%YOY), Kuwait with $158 million (up 2% YOY), Qatar with $134 million (down 20% YOY), Bahrain with $10 million (up 15% YOY) and Saudi Arabia with $41,400.
As for imports, Iran shipped in 24.68 million tons of products worth $25.84 billion from its neighbors during the same period, indicating a 68% and 60% growth in tonnage and value respectively compared with the year before.
The UAE was the top exporter to Iran with $16.5 billion (up 69% YOY). It was followed by Turkey with $5.3 billion (up 20% YOY), Russia with $1.7 billion (up 54% YOY), Iraq with $1.2 billion (up a whopping 790% YOY) and Oman with $619 million (up 43% YOY), Pakistan with $312 million, Kazakhstan with $78 million, Azerbaijan Republic with $42.6 million, Turkmenistan with $33.3 million, Afghanistan with $21.1 million, Armenia with $20.2 million, Kuwait with $14.8 million, Qatar with $9.6 million and Bahrain with $1.5 million.
Trade with neighbors stood at $36.45 billion in the fiscal 2020-21, down from $40 billion in the preceding year. Iran’s exports totaled $20.35 billion in the fiscal 2021-22, indicating a $4 billion decrease in value year-on-year. Imports were at $16.09 billion, unchanged compared with the previous year.
Restricted Trade Portfolio
According to Majid Reza Hariri, chairman of the Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, the lion’s share of Iran’s foreign trade is with five countries, namely China, the UAE, Iraq, Turkey and Afghanistan.
“A limited number of trading partners is not a good idea for a country whose export destinations are limited. Each of these countries could become a risk if and when they grab a bigger share of Iran’s trade and dominate,” he told the Persian daily Ta’adol.
“We are likely to get into trouble for whatever reason, including political issues, with these countries, each of which accounts for more than 15% of our trade. All said, market diversity is a must for import and export. Now that Iran is under sanctions and cannot forge ties with Europe and the US, we need to concentrate on other markets, namely Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America.”
