Iran posts $9bn trade deficit in 10 months to late January
Iran’s customs office (IRICA) has posted a trade deficit of $9 billion for the 10 calendar months to January 19.
IRICA figures released on Monday showed that the country’s non-oil exports had reached $47 billion in the period from late March last year to late January this year, an increase of 18% compared to the previous same period.
IRICA chief Foroud Asgari disclosed the figures in a press conference with reporters in Tehran, adding that Iranian export shipments had increased by 12% in volume terms to reach 127 million metric tons (mt) in the 10 months to late January.
He said non-oil imports into Iran also increased by 3% in volume and value terms to reach 30.7 million mt worth $56 billion over the same period.
China was the largest buyer of Iranian goods and commodities over the 10 months to late January with some $12.3 billion worth of purchases, followed by Iraq at $10 billion, the United Arab Emirates at $5.9 billion, and Turkey at $5.5 billion, IRICA figures showed.
The data showed that the UAE, the main re-exporting hub in the Persian Gulf, was the largest exporter to Iran over the same period with some $17 billion worth of supplies.
China’s exports to Iran hit $14.4 billion over the 10 months to late January while exports by Turkey and Germany reached $9.9 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively, Asgari said.
He said Iran’s main export items over the period included liquefied propane, butane, and methanol, adding that the country had exported 139,000 mt of pistachio worth $1.278 billion, up 95% and 165% in volume and value terms year on year.
Main import items into Iran in the 10 months to late January included gold bars at $6.3 billion, corn feed at $2.3 billion, mobile phones at $1.8 billion, and soybean feed at 1.6 billion, IRICA figures showed.
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