A report by the Iranian parliament shows that the country has seen its trade deficit widen since 2021 due to issues like international inflation, the declining value of Iran’s export commodities, fluctuations in currency prices, and too much focus on major trade partners.
The report by the Iranian parliament’s research center, carried by Fars news agency on Monday, showed that Iran had a trade deficit of $7.16 billion in the two quarters to September last year, the largest half-year deficit recorded in recent years.
The report said that Iran has been posting trade deficits since 2021, adding that the deficit had been at $6.33 billion in the year to March 2023.
It said the main reason behind Iran’s rising trade deficits has been the declining value of the country’s export commodities, adding that the average value of those shipments was nearly a fifth of the commodities and goods imported into Iran last year.
Customs figures cited in the report showed that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, and Turkey have been responsible for some 72.4% of the total exports into Iran in the six months to late September last year.
The report said that a bulk of Iran’s exports have been shipped to China and Iraq in recent years.
“This focus means more vulnerability to political, economic, and trade shocks in those countries,” it said while recommending a diversification of Iran’s trade partners to narrow the current deficit.
Iranian customs figures show the country had a trade deficit of $14.6 billion in the calendar year to March 20, although experts have blamed the large deficit on huge imports of gold into the country last year as part of the government’s anti-sanction policies.
Iran’s trade deficit in the two calendar months to May 21 reached $0.23 billion, according to figures released by the government earlier this month.