The first eight months of 2015 saw Iran carry out transactions with 162 countries.
The latest figures by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show that the country registered trade surplus with 83 countries whereas trade balance with the remaining 79 landed in negative territory.
Iran’s exports showed 4% growth during the period compared to the corresponding duration of last year, which stood at $23.496 billion. Imports registered a decline of 17% in terms of value reaching $31.468 billion, Financial Tribune's sister newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad reported.
Iran's trade balance marked a $7.972 billion deficit while it was $15.328 billion in negative territory during the same period of 2014.
The IRICA figures also show exports declined by 5% in August compared to July. Imports saw a 16% decline in the same month compared to the previous month. July’s negative trade balance of $1.266 billion fell to $761 million in August.
The largest trade surplus was recorded with Iraq at $4.311 billion. Afghanistan came next at $1.658 billion, followed by Turkmenistan at $568 million, Pakistan at $377 million and Egypt at $298 million.
Meanwhile, the biggest trade deficit was registered with the UAE at $3.8 billion. China came with $2.664 billion, followed by South Korea, Switzerland and Turkey with $2.638 billion, $1.708 billion and $1.311 respectively.
> Exports
The main exported commodities during the period include liquefied petroleum gases and hydrocarbon gases (5.45% or $1.281 billion), liquefied propane (5.36% or $1.259 billion) and bitumen (4.17% or $980 million).
China accounted for the lion's share of total export value (22.7%). The East Asian country recorded a 15% decline in its imports from Iran compared to the similar period of last year.
Iraq came next with 18.49%, followed by the UAE with 15.49%, India with 8.11% and Afghanistan with 7.1%.
The average price of exported commodities per ton during the eight months of 2015 hovered around $445, which registers a 9.4% rise over last year’s corresponding period.
> Imports
The main imported commodities include corn for cattle feed (3.29% or $1.35 billion), wheat excluding cattle feed wheat (2.68% or $842 million) and vehicles with engine capacity of 1500 cc–2500 cc, excluding ambulance and hybrid cars (2.47% or $777 million).
With 25.41%, China accounted for a majority of Iran’s imports during the period followed by the UAE with 21.35%, South Korea with 9.05%, Turkey with 7.64% and India with 6%.
The average price of imported commodities per ton in the eight-month period stood around $1,212, which records a 9.71% decline compared to the similar period of last year.
