Iran traded 159.23 million tons of goods worth $112.82 billion (excluding crude oil exports) in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20), says Rouhollah Latifi, the spokesman of the Iranian House of Industry, Mine and Trade’s Trade Development Commission and former spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
He noted that trade value has increased by $11.38 billion compared with that of the previous year, IRNA reported.
Iran’s exports, excluding crude oil, reached 122.56 million tons worth $53.16 billion during the period, registering a 10% rise in terms of value.
“This has set a record, as the highest exports value was previously registered in the fiscal 2014-15 with $50.56 billion,” Latifi said.
China with $14.58 billion was Iran’s main export destination during the period (unchanged), followed by Iraq with $10.23 billion (up 15%), Turkey with $7.45 billion (up 23%), the UAE with $5.76 billion (up 28%) and India with $2.14 billion (up 18%).
Imports stood at 37.18 million worth $59.65 billion, registering a 10% fall in terms of weight, but a 13% rise in value.
The UAE with $18.39 billion (up 11%) was the main exporter to Iran during the period. China with $15.74 billion (up 24%), Turkey with $6.09 billion (up 15%), India with $2.01 billion (up 80%) and Germany with $2.01 billion (up 5%) came next.
Latifi noted that 12.91 million tons of foreign goods were transited from Iran during the period under review to register a 2.2% rise.
“The highest volume of transit was registered in the fiscal 2014-15 with 13.2 million tons of transit,” he said.
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 get 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 which account 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.”
