A total of 327,000 tons of non-oil goods worth $122.751 million were exported from Iran to 36 African countries during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), registering a 59% and 73% year-on-year fall in terms of weight and value respectively, according to Rouhollah Latifi, the deputy head of Iran-South Africa Merchants Club.
Ghana topped the list of export destinations during the period with $56.32 million worth of exports, registering an 87% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year. It was followed by South Africa with $27.33 million (down 80%), Tanzania with $8.64 million (down 44%), Somalia with $8.25 million (down 27%) and Kenya with $7.63 million (down 48%), IRNA reported.
Steel products worth $60 million, urea fertilizer worth $25 million, bitumen worth $15 million, food products worth $11.5 million, liquefied gas worth $2.7 million and construction materials worth $1.5 million were the main products exported from Iran to Africa in Q1. Other exported items included engine oil, petroleum derivatives, mineral products, medicine, rosewater, handicrafts, carpets, chemicals, laboratory kits, plastic products, rubber and tubes, glass containers, flooring, cloth and children’s toys.
Iran imported a total of 13,861 tons of goods worth $17.26 million from 17 African countries during the same period, registering a 28% and 27% fall in weight and value respectively.
South Africa was the main exporter to Iran in Q1 with $6.62 million, registering a 118% rise.
Tanzania with $2.17 million (down 62%), Ghana with $1.91 million (up 2,701%), Congo with $1.76 million (down 46%) and Kenya with $1.66 million (down 79%) came next. Latifi said the imports included $6.85 million of food products, including tea, coffee, wheat, malt, beans and plant extracts, as well as $2.81 million worth of manganese ore and $2.2 million of industrial oil, along with chrome concentrate, plastic materials, electronic devices, automotive accessories and industrial machinery.
Trade With Algeria
Referring to the recent visit of Algeria’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf to Iran, Latifi said Iran’s non-oil exports to this African country in Q1 stood at $1.13 million, registering a 109% year-on-year rise.
Iranian exports to Algeria stood at $14.84 million in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20), which is far from the highest volume during the last 14 years recorded in the fiscal 2020-21 with $124 million. Latifi noted that the highest volume of Iran’s imports from Algeria in the last 14 years was $260,000, noting that no imports were registered in the last Iranian year. Iran imported $2,200 worth of products from Algeria in Q1, he added. Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Iran’s relations with Algeria are on the right track, highlighting regular political consultations between the top authorities of the two states.
“We are determined to continue these consultations at a broader level,” he said at a joint press briefing with his Algerian counterpart in Tehran on Saturday, ISNA reported.
Algeria’s top diplomat arrived in Tehran on Friday for talks with Iranian officials. He co-chaired a meeting of the two countries’ delegations before holding bilateral talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. At the press conference, he said Tehran-Algiers relations are very extensive at national and international levels.
“The two countries’ ties are historical and excellent, with bright prospects,” he said. Both countries agreed that bilateral cooperation can be expanded in various sectors, including science and technology, health, medicine, tourism and new energies, according to Amir-Abdollahian. Attaf said he was satisfied with the meeting, saying the discussions can revitalize bilateral relations. “We agreed to focus more on areas of common high priority, such as energy, industry, science and technology, as it can improve the two countries’ synergy,” he said. He also welcomed positive developments regarding Iran’s relations with regional Arab states, especially the normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia, hoping that this important step would lead to coordination among all regional states against challenges ahead.
