Prospective Trade Partners

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance has identified 59 most “appropriate” trading partners for Iran to achieve export-oriented growth. 

According to a study conducted by the ministry, European countries that have the potential to become Iran’s economic partners include Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Norway and Iceland. 

The most favorable Middle Eastern and North African trading partners for Iran, according to the study, should be Iraq, Jordan, the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt. 

The Commonwealth of Independent States most suitable for doing business include Azerbaijan Republic, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Belarus, Russia and Kyrgyzstan, the ministry said.

From among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with high potentials to become Iran’s partners, the study named Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam. 

Other Asian countries favored to become Iran’s economic allies include China, India, South Korea, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Japan, Georgia, Bangladesh and Poland. 

Moreover, Brazil, the United States, Canada, Uruguay and Mexico are American countries that could become Iran’s top trading partners, while South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, Algeria and Ghana are capable of becoming top Iran’s economic partners in Africa.  

Australia was also considered well qualified to become a favorable trading partner of Iran. 

Using “Decision Support System Concepts, Methodologies and Technologies”, the study analyzed the available information of 195 countries in three stages. 

Political and commercial risks of doing business in those countries based on the data provided by the Belgian Export Credit Agency, known as ONDD, as well as the countries’ economic growth were appraised in the first stage. Only 121 countries passed through the first stage. 

Commercial and export capacities and the market size of these countries were evaluated in the second stage. 

In the final stage, commercial hurdles of doing business with these countries were gauged. Ultimately, 59 out of 195 countries were selected as most appropriate trading partners for Iran. 

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

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

China was the top export destination of Iranian goods. The Asian country imported 37.7 million tons of goods worth $8.177 billion during the last 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.

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).