Exports to Turkey of items included in a preferential trade agreement almost doubled in Q4 last year (ended March 20) compared to Q3 to reach $42.56 million, said the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.
Imports from Turkey also experienced a $14.2 million increase over the same period to reach $116.1 million in Q4, IRNA quoted Valiollah Afkhamirad as saying.
Ruling out the claim by some critics that the PTA has done more harm than good, he said: “The growth in exports was more than imports, which indicates that the PTA has worked in favor of Iran.”
The PTA to reduce tariff barriers between Iran and Turkey was signed during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s (who was then Turkish prime minister) visit to Tehran in January 2014 after negotiations that lasted 10 years. The two countries initially set an objective to boost bilateral trade to $30 billion by the end of 2015 from $14.6 billion in 2013. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci later raised the target to $35 billion in an apparent sign of his growing optimism over the accord.
According to the agreement, 125 Iranian goods and 140 Turkish items will be traded based on preferential tariffs.
