Nine-month non-oil trade tops $69b
Iran’s non-oil exports in the ¿rst nine months of the current ¿scal year (started March 21) stood at $69.21 billion, indicating a growth of 7.8 percent compared the ¿gure for the same period last year, according to the latest report by Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
It further said that 88.57 million tons of goods worth $31.64 billion were exported during the period which shows a decline of 2.39 percent year-on-year, IRNA reported.
Also during the ninemonth period, 26.59 million tons of goods worth $37.57 billion were imported showing a growth of 18.31 percent against the ¿gure for the same time span last year.
The rise in imports was mainly due to higher import of basic goods, auto parts, cars and capital goods.
The government has recently limited the hours for registering import orders. Based on the new regulation, importers are required to register their orders online from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day.
Mojtaba Khosrotaj, the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, said the limits apply to certain goods, the import of which requires expert consultation.
In December 2017, the TPO chief announced that order registrations will be valid for three months only, while previously they were valid for six months. The restrictions are aimed at curbing Iran’s imports to narrow the country’s foreign trade de¿cit in the runup to the end of the current ¿scal year on March 20, 2018.
Gas condensates (worth $5.09 billion), lique¿ed propane ($1.06 billion), methanol ($835 million), light crude oil, excluding gasoline ($810 million) and granulated hematite iron ore ($765 million) were the chief export commodities.
Imports mainly included auto parts ($1.24 billion), ¿eld corn ($1.11 billion), rice ($1.01 billion), soybean ($749 million), vehicles with engine displacement of 1500cc to 2000cc, except for ambulance and hybrid cars ($660 million).
China was the main customer of Iranian products during the period under review, as Iran exported goods worth $6.52 billion to the Asian country which is 12.78 percent more than the ¿gure for the corresponding period of last year.
Iran’s other major export destinations were Iraq (with imports amounting to $4.62 billion), the UAE ($4.45 billion), South Korea ($3.01 billion) and Afghanistan ($2 billion).
The value of exports to Iraq, South Korea and Afghanistan rose by 0.36 percent, 28.99 percent and 6.27 percent respectively compared to the ¿gures for the same period last year, while UAE’S imports from Iran dropped by 18.39 percent.
Major exporters to Iran included China ($9.45 billion), the UAE ($6.65 billion), Turkey ($2.57 billion), South Korea ($2.56 billion) and Germany ($2.95 billion).
The average price of each ton of exported goods stood at $357, posting a ¿ve-percent year-on-year rise while the average price of each ton of imported commodities hovered around $1,413, up 12 percent year-on-year.