Iran’s foreign trade has grown by 65% in the four months of the fiscal year (March 21-July 22) in comparison to last year’s corresponding period, according to the head of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO).
Hamid Zadboom said that the country’s foreign trade has reached some $29 billion over the four-month period, showing 65% growth in terms of value and 27% increase in terms of weight year-on-year.
He said that China was the first export destination of Iranian commodities over the mentioned period with $4.4 billion of imports from Iran, followed by Iraq, the UAE, Turkey and Afghanistan with $2.8 billion, $1.6 billion, $921 million and $728 million of imports from the country respectively.
Iran traded some 50.8 million tons ($28bn) of goods with different world countries over the period under review, the official said, noting that the exports of non-oil commodities accounted for 38.3 million tons ($14.3bn) of the country’s total trade.
He said that recent remarks by President Ebrahim Raeisi in a session of the government’s Economic Coordination Headquarters promises a new chapter in promotion of Iran’s non-oil exports.
The new government's focus on stability in the foreign trade sector is indicative of the special significance the president attaches to this sector, the official said, noting that taking such an approach by President Raeisi leads to the peace of mind of the exporters.
Zadboom said that Iran has huge capacity to play a key role in international trade with the world, neighboring countries in particular.
Data released earlier by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration showed that Iran’s trade with its 15 neighboring countries stood at $10.5 billion in the first quarter of the current fiscal year (March 21-June 21).
It said that the UAE with $5.52 billion worth of exchanges was Iran’s biggest trading partner among its neighbors during the three-month period.