Page 21 - IRANRptDec20

5.0​ External Sector & Trade
5.1​ Balance of payments and current account
Iran, EU trade falls to 11% to 3.3bn in first nine months
Trade between Iran and African states tops $200mn after seven months of Persian year
Iran trade with SCO members topped $15bn in seven months
Trade between Iran and European Union member states fell 11% y/y to €3.345bn in the first nine months of this year, according to data released by Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA).
Exports from Iran to the EU rose 13% y/y to €563mn, while exports from the EU to Iran declined 15% y/y to €2.783bn.
At €222mn, foodstuffs and livestock accounted for the biggest share of the Iranian exports to the EU, followed by chemicals and related products at around €110mn of exports.
Machinery and transportation equipment, with a value of €887mn, accounted for most EU goods imported by Iran in the first three quarters of the year, TCCIMA added.
Germany was the top EU importer of Iranian commodities, accounting for around 36% of the recorded exports. The Netherlands, Italy and Spain were other top destinations for Iranian exports.
Germany and Italy were also among the top exporters of goods to Iran in the assessed period.
Iran’s exports to the EU increased by 45% and 42% in the first two months of 2020, respectively, but the trend turned negative in the following months, with the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis making a heavy impact.
Trade between Iran and African states topped $200mn in the first seven months of the 2020/2021 Persian year (March 20-October 21), according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration as cited by the Financial Tribune on November 19.
A total of 959,848 tonnes of commodities worth more than $180mn were reportedly exported by Iran to 27 African countries during the period. Imports from Africa amounted to 8,299 tonnes worth $20.4mn.
“Exports included dairy products, dates, plaster and cement, carbon, metal sheets, glass, iron bars, aluminum, flowers for use in perfumery, licorice extract, medical equipment and oilseeds,” IRICA spokesman Rouhollah Latifi was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iranian foreign trade with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) states reached $15.15bn (30.3mn tonnes) in the first seven months of the current Persian calendar year (starting March 20), IBENA reported on November 10.
Despite the enormous figure for trade, Iran remains an observer member of the Chinese economic bloc, because of its ongoing issues with the US and ally countries preventing the full entry of the Islamic Republic into the economic group founded in 2001.
Also in the first seven months of the current Persian year, the amount of Iran's foreign trade with the members of the SCO amounted to 30.3mn tonnes of goods equal to $15.15bn.
21​ IRAN Country Report December 2020 www.intellinews.com