Iran could triple the value of its exports to China to nearly $27 billion within the next few years, according to senior trade authorities in the country, amid expectations that Tehran and Beijing would exponentially increase their trade relations after signing a 25-year economic partnership agreement.
According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, China remained Iran’s biggest trade partner in the Persian calendar year to late March as the country was responsible for nearly a fourth of imports and exports registered at the Iranian customs office.
China accounted for 26% of Iran's total non-oil exports, as 26.58 million tons of non-oil goods worth $8.95 billion were shipped from Iran to China during the period.
Imports from China totaled 3.54 million tons worth $9.76 billion during the year to March 21, 2021, to account for 10.6% of the total volume of Iran's imports and 25.3% of the total value of imports during the period.
Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Hamid Zadboum said non-oil exports to China had topped $9 billion in the year to March.
Zadboum said, however, that Iran’s exports to China had diversified over the period so that goods that used to be imported from China in recent years were exported to the East Asian country over the past calendar year.
He said exports could easily increase by three times in the next few years as Iranian products are becoming more popular for the Chinese customers.
“If someone manages to find a market for a product in China, he’ll face a very big demand,” said the TPO head.
The remarks come days after Iran and China signed a comprehensive partnership agreement to set out a roadmap for their economic cooperation in the next 25 years.
Experts believe the agreement would lead to increased output of energy products in Iran for the purpose of shipping to the Chinese market.
Petrochemicals have accounted for a bulk of Chinese imports from Iran over the past years amid a historic boom in the downstream section of the Iranian oil and gas industry.
A draft of the Iranian-Chinese partnership agreement published last year showed that China would commit to a huge investment in the Iranian energy sector under the deal while Iran would guarantee a steady supply of crude and petroleum products to China.