Over 8,000 traders were involved in export business during the first seven months of the current year (March 21-Oct. 22), indicating that 1,100 more companies have tried their hand compared with the same period of last year, the outgoing head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran said.
Mojtaba Khosrotaj added that exports of 300 companies were more than $10 million each during the period, adding that their overall exports reached $20.8 billion, which constituted 77% of the country’s overall exports during the seven months.
"There are both state-run and private sector companies among these companies. A number of private sector companies have exported more than $10 million worth of non-oil goods each,” he said.
Exports, excluding crude oil, mazut, kerosene and suitcase trade, hit 67.36 million tons worth $27.22 billion in the seven-month period, indicating a 1% decline in weight and a 13% increase in value year-on-year, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration reported.
Khosrotaj said exports of about 2,000 traders exceeded $1 million during the period, which accounted for close to 96% of the country’s total exports.
"The overall value of exports by traders with less than $1 million worth of exports was around $1 billion whereas the value of exports by major companies [those with exports above $100 million each] was nearly $15 billion during the period, suggesting that they accounted for 55% of overall exports," he said.
Khosrotaj put the number of companies active in non-oil exports last year (March 2017-18) at 9,166, Mehr News Agency reported.
