Iran saw its exports to the neighboring Oman increase by more than two thirds to a total of $277 million in the six months to September 22, according to a businessman coordinating trade between the two countries.
Mohsen Zarrabi, who chairs the Iran-Oman Joint Chamber of Commerce, said on Sunday that Iranian shipments sent to Oman in the first half of the current calendar year had increased by 67% against the previous similar period.
Zarrabi said that total trade between the two countries had also increased by 49% to $547 million over the same period.
Oman is a major re-exporting hub in the Persian Gulf. Exports directed from the Arab sultanate into Iran between March and September had amounted to $270 million, an increase of 32% against the same period in 2020, said Zarrabi.
Iran has increased its trade with neighboring countries in recent years despite being subject to a series of harsh economic sanctions by the United States.
The Iranian customs administration (IRICA) announced on Sunday that trade with neighbors had reached a total value of $22.558 billion in the six months to September 22.
IRICA spokesman Rouhollah Latifi told the state TV that trade with 15 countries with whom Iran has land or sea borders had increased by 52% in value terms against the similar period last year.
On the size of exports to the neighbors, Latifi said that shipments had increased by 41% in value terms and by 33% in volume terms between March and September.
Shipments sent to the neighbors has also accounted for 51.5% of Iran’s total exports over the period, he said.