Page 26 - IRANRptFeb22

months of Persian year
Gas, chemicals and petrochemicals ‘make up 58% of Iran’s non-oil export value in first eight months of Persian calendar year’
Steep increases recorded in Iran’s imports of essential commodities
Iran’s non-oil foreign trade iup 38% in first nine Persian months driven by Petrochemicals
the Iran-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce Amir Abedi as saying.
“Iran exported 360,300 tonnes of goods worth $132.6mn to Kazakhstan during the period to register a 6.7% rise in weight and a 21% fall in value compared with the same period of last year,” Abedi said.
The exported goods mainly included polyethylene, fruit, dates, pistachio, iron bars and steel products, carpets and flooring, paint and potatoes, he noted.
In turn, Iran imported 117,600 tonnes of products from Kazakhstan worth $37.9mn, registering annual 30.7% and 1.3% growth rates in volume and value, respectively.
Natural gas, chemicals and petrochemicals made up 58% of Iran’s non-oil export value in the first eight months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21-November 21), the head of the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters Union informed IRNA.
“Iran sold $31 billion worth of non-oil products in the 246-day period, of which $18 billion were generated by exports of polymers, gas, bitumen and methanol,” Hamid Hosseini was quoted as saying, adding that bitumen shipments amounted to 100,000 tonnes.
US sanctions enforcers find it far more challenging to target Iran’s petrochemical exports, compared to its crude oil shipments, partly because there is such a wide diversity of petrochemical products and petrochemicals are shipped in smaller volumes than oil.
Separately, Iran's liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) exports have been projected at around 6mn tonnes in 2022, with China set to remain the main buyer. The volume would be higher if the ongoing nuclear deal talks lead to the US lifting sanctions on Tehran, S&P Global Platts cited sources as saying in a report on the LPG outlook.
"The production [of LPG in Iran] is increasing, but the problem is the limited number of vessels that are calling at Iranian ports. China is the main and biggest importer of Iranian LPG and without any change in 2022," one source was quoted as saying.
Essential goods valued at $14.14bn were imported by Iran during the first nine months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21-December 21), according to the newly-appointed head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), as cited by Fars News Agency.
“Seven commodities weighing around 20.17 million tons and valued at $11.14 billion in total were imported using the subsidised foreign currency rate of 42,000 rials per dollar, registering increases of 36% and 83%, respectively, compared with the same period of last year,” Alireza Moqaddasi was also quoted as saying.
Also known as “necessity” or “basic goods”, essential goods are products that consumers will buy regardless of changes in their income levels.
The official exchange rate of the Iranian rial (IRR) to the USD compares to the free market rate of IRR 277,700 (as of December 16).
Iran’s non-oil foreign trade reached a value of $72.1bn in the first nine months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21-December 21), up 38% year on year, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).
Exports grew 40% y/y to $35.1bn, it added.
Petrochemicals alone contributed $14.7bn in exports (42% of total export value), the authority said.
Trade moved up from a low base given that the Iranian economy in 2020 was much more impacted by the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis than it was in 2021.
26 IRAN Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com