Iran’s non-oil trade during the 11 months of the current Iranian year (started March 20, 2016) amounted to $76.907 billion, indicating a 1.8% increase compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to the latest report by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Iran exported $38.492 billion worth of non-oil commodities during the period, registering a 0.21% rise compared to the corresponding period of the previous year. Gas condensates were Iran’s main exported commodity ($6.571 billion), making up for 17.07% of the total non-oil export figure. This was followed by natural liquefied gases ($1.957 billion), light crude oil, excluding gasoline ($1.365 billion), petroleum gases, liquefied hydrocarbons ($1.106 billion) and liquefied propane ($1.077 billion). China was the main customer of Iranian products, as Iran exported $7.298 billion worth of non-oil goods to the Asian country during the period, up 6.91% compared with last year’s similar period. Other major export destinations included the UAE with $6.141 billion, Iraq with $5.514 billion, Turkey with $2.958 billion and South Korea with $2.691 billion worth of Iranian goods.
In return, the country imported $38.415 billion worth of goods – up 3.47% year-on-year. The figures point to a $77 million surplus in Iran’s international trade balance for the 11 months to February 18, 2017. The imported commodities mainly included field corn ($1.300 billion), soybean ($848 million), auto parts ($730 million), motor vehicles with engine displacement of 1,500-2,000cc ($705 million) and motor vehicles with engine displacement of 2,000-2,500cc ($572 million). Major exporters to Iran included China ($9.373 billion), the UAE ($5.797 billion), South Korea ($3.027 billion), Turkey ($2.389 billion) and Germany ($2.170 billion). Imports from the UAE, South Korea and Turkey fell by 15.02%, 9.57% and 10.99% respectively. However, imports from China and Germany experienced a 0.09% and 36.3% growth year-on-year.