Lack of Diversity in Iran’s Trade Partners

Forty-three Asian countries accounted for close to 93% of Iran’s non-oil exports during the 10 months to January 19, according to a report by Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, citing the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration’s data.

China, the UAE and Iraq, each with a 20%, 17.1% and 15.4% share respectively, were Iran’s main export destinations in Asia, the report added.

China was the main customer of Iranian products in the 10-month period, as Iran exported $6.54 billion worth of non-oil goods to the Asian country, 9.53% more compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Following Asia, Europe received 4.3% of Iran’s non-oil exports during the period under review. Italy, Germany and Spain with a combined share of 67% were the biggest customers of Iranian non-oil commodities in Europe.

The report added that around 1.4% of all Iranian non-oil exports headed to 39 African countries. Yet, the majority of these countries had a meager share in Iran’s overall trade. Around 31% of the exports to Africa were made to Egypt, making it Iran’s main African export destination. Morocco and Mozambique followed with a 9% and 8% share respectively.

Iran’s exports to North and South Americas were minimal, accounting for 0.4% and 0.3% of the total non-oil exports respectively.

The US with a 54% and Brazil with a 93% share were Iran’s main customers in the Americas.

Finally, Oceania accounted for only 0.1% of Iran’s total non-oil exports during the period. Close to 95% of Iran’s exports to Oceania headed to Australia.

The remaining 0.4% of Iran’s exports pertained to those from free trade zones and special economic zones, or destinations not specified in IRICA’s data.

As for countries of origin for Iran’s imports, ISNA reported earlier that close to 60% of all of Iran’s imports came from five countries during the same 10 months.

Based on the report, China, the UAE, South Korea, Turkey and Germany were the main exporters of commodities over the period.

The biggest exporter to Iran was China with exports of over 3.6 million tons of goods worth $8.4 billion, accounting for 13% and 24% of Iran’s total imports in terms of weight and value respectively.

The UAE, the second biggest exporter, sold 4.4 million tons of goods ($5.47 billion) to Iran, making up 15% of the country’s imports in both weight and value.

South Korea, Turkey and Germany exported 1.2 million tons of goods worth $2.8 billion, 1.32 million tons valued at $2.2 billion and 843,000 tons worth more than $1.96 billion to Iran over the same period respectively.

According to IRICA, Iran’s non-oil foreign trade during the 10 months of the current Iranian year stood at $70.25 billion, indicating a 5.8% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.

Iran exported $35.27 billion worth of non-oil commodities during the period, registering an 8.37% rise year-on-year.

The country imported $34.98 billion worth of goods during the period, up 3.21% year-on-year.