Intermediate Goods Constitute 68% of Import Value

Intermediate goods constituted 68% of the value of Iran's imports during the eight-month period ending November 20.

According the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration's latest report, Iran imported 21.563 million tons of goods worth $27.38 billion during the period, which indicate a 0.94% rise year-on-year.

Over 20 million tons of the imports worth $17.83 billion pertained to intermediate goods. These goods accounted for 93% and 68% of the total imports in terms of weight and value respectively.

Intermediate goods are used as inputs in the production of other goods, including final goods. In the production process, intermediate goods either become part of the final product or are changed beyond recognition in the process.

During the aforementioned period, over 962,000 tons of consumer goods worth $3.13 billion were shipped into Iran, constituting 4% and 10% of overall imports in terms of weight and value respectively. 

The main imported commodities included field corn ($874 million), soybean ($594 million), auto parts ($531 million), rice ($520 million) and motor vehicles ($459 million).

Iran exported 81.76 million tons of goods categorized as "non-oil" worth $28.11 billion during the eight months, registering a 5.74% rise in value compared with last year's corresponding period. 

According to deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, Mohammad Reza Modoudi, China, the UAE, Turkey, South Korea and Iraq are the customers of 66% of Iranian non-oil exports. He said oil-derived goods make up the lion's share of non-oil exports. 

“Exports of petroleum products saw up to a 40% increase in terms of weight this year, but due to a decline in global oil prices, the rise in the value of exports was modest,” he was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency. 

Gas condensates were Iran's main export ($4.51 billion) in the non-oil category, accounting for 16.7% of total exports. They were followed by liquefied natural gases ($1.95 billion), light crude oil and its derivatives, excluding gasoline ($1.57 billion), petroleum gases and liquefied hydrocarbons ($960 million) and liquefied propane ($763 million).

China was the main importer of Iranian goods. Iran exported $5.11 billion worth of goods to the Asian country, 1.82% more than that during the same period of last year. 

Major export destinations included the UAE with $4.37 billion, Iraq $4.68 billion, Turkey $2.6 billion and South Korea $2.14 billion. Exports to South Korea during the period indicate a whopping year-on-year growth of 708%.