Iran's Annual Non-Oil Trade Exceeds $87b

Iran’s non-oil foreign trade stood at $87 billion during the past Iranian fiscal year (March 2016-17).

The latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration shows that Iran exported 129.648 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $43.93 billion during the last Iranian fiscal year (ended March 20), registering 3.58% growth in total value of exports year-on-year.

Gas condensate was the main exported commodity, making up for  $7.32 billion of the export value. It was followed by light oil, excluding gasoline ($2.49 billion), liquefied natural gases ($2.79 billion), liquefied propane ($1.222 billion) and petroleum gases and liquefied hydrocarbons ($1.204 billion).

Iran imported $43.684 billion worth of goods during the last Iranian fiscal year (March 2016-17), marking 5.16% growth YoY. Field corn, soybean, cars, auto parts, and rice were Iran’s main imports in the past Iranian fiscal year. 

The total value of imported cars reached $893 million during the said period, according to the IRICA.

Iran Export Destinations 

China remained the top export destination for Iranian goods. The Asian country imported 37.7 million tons of goods worth $8.177 billion during the last Iranian fiscal year, up 9.1% compared with the year before.

Other major export destinations were the UAE with $7.43 billion, Iraq with $6.1 billion, Turkey with $3.2 billion and South Korea with $2.8 billion.

South Korea recorded 229% increase in the value of imports from Iran during the last Iranian year, according to the IRICA. However, export to Turkey experienced 3.5% drop in the total value.

Top Exporters to Iran

Major exporters to Iran in 2016-17 included China ($10.73 billion), the UAE ($6.4 billion), South Korea ($3.46 billion), Turkey ($2.73 billion) and Germany ($2.53 billion). 

Iran imports from the UAE declined by 17.49% during the said period. Imports from South Korea and Turkey also dropped by 5.96% and 8.36%. However, Iran imports from Germany increased by 39.23% compared with the year before (2015-16).