Page 25 - IRANRptNov19

Germany remained the top export destination (€99.64mn), followed by Italy (€94.51mn) and Belgium with (€75.37mn).
Imports from the EU dropped 53.13% to stand at €2.14bn.
Germany was the biggest exporter to Iran (€677.68mn), while other figures included Italy (€357.11mn), the Netherlands (€252.02mn), France (€167.94mn) and Belgium (€113.65mn).
These figures were up y/y by 5,561%, 2,114% and 845%, respectively. Imports sent to Iran included nuclear reactor parts, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts, whereas imports included plastics, grains, industrial machinery, oils, cosmetics, and paper and paper pulp.
German exports to Iran fell by 48% to $759mn in the first half of this year and Iran's sales to Germany for the same period dropped 43% to $123mn, according to the BGA (Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade) trade association.​"German companies are forced to choose between their market activities in Iran and the United States, so it's clear which market is preferred," the BGA trade association told Reuters.
5.1.3​ Gross international reserves
Iran’s gold Imami sovereign breaks IRR25mn barrier amid dwindling hard currency supplies
CBI has over €70bn in hard currency reserves
Iran’s gold sovereign of choice, the Imami, has again broken the IRR25mn barrier as buyers continue to purchase remaining stocks of the officially minted 18-carat coin, IBENA reported on June 18.
Iranians’ attraction to gold as a safe haven has intensified with hard currency supplies dwindling in Iran following legal changes suddenly brought in in early April to arrest the stark descent of the Iranian rial (IRR), hit by souring sentiment over Iran’s economic prospects in the face of hostility from the US Trump administration. The move banned open market trading of foreign exchange and made unofficial rates illegal.
In early May, a World Gold Council report said that​ ​gold coin and bar demand in Iran shot up to a three-year high of 9.3 tonnes​ ​in the first quarter as Iranians —correctly—anticipated that the consequences of deteriorating relations with the US would cause Tehran to introduce currency controls.
The Azadi gold coin, the former number one sovereign sold by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), also reached a historic high on June 18, topping IRR24mn a coin, while smaller half-sovereigns increased in price accordingly.
According to the IMF in its Regional Economic Outlook on May 4, the value of Iran’s gross official reserves was estimated to reach $108.4bn in 2018.​ The country’s gross official reserves will experience a $13.3bn jump in the current year rising from last year’s $95.1bn.
The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) has more than €70bn in hard currency reserves, according to the National Development Fund of Iran (NDFI). However, as restrictions continue on trade and withdrawal of cash from forex reserves, the country is looking for ways to find new revenues of hard currency.
5.2​ FTA, multilateral agreements
Iran’s PTA with EEU member countries commences
October 27 saw the commencement of a temporary preferential trade agreement (PTA) between the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Iran, with more than 862 items seeing a significant tariff change, with many tariffs reduced to zero.
25​ IRAN Country Report​ November 2019 www.intellinews.com