Page 19 - IRANRptSep18

Iranian exports to Azerbaijan up 42% y/y in first third of Persian year
US slightly softens stance on countries buying Iranian oil exports
Iran’s trade with South Korea hit as Seoul responds to US strictures
Iraq imports a wide range of goods from Iran including food, agricultural products, home appliances, air conditioners and spare car parts. The goods element of Iranian imports to Iraq was about $6bm for the 12 months ending March 2018, about 15% of Iraq’s total imports for 2017, Reuters said.
Its report added that there are also energy contracts between the two countries contributing to a volume of trade of $12bn last year.
Iran’s non-oil exports to Azerbaijan hit 198,655 tonnes with a value of around €100mn during the first four months of the current Persian calendar year (started March 21), marking an expansion of 36.2% in tonnage and growth of 42% in value year on year, the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) said on August 20.
Despite the proximity of the neighbouring countries, exports to Azerbaijan of Iranian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) remain at a relatively low volume, with metals, plastics and potatoes being the most frequently consigned items when it comes to the Azerbaijanis.
Meanwhile, in the assessed period, Azerbaijan exported over 14,500 tonnes of goods worth €3.99mn to Iran, down 19.94% and 28.64% in tonnage and value year on year, respectively. Azerbaijani exports to its southern, larger neighbour (Azerbaijan’s population stands at around 9.9mn whereas Iran’s inhabitants number around 80mn) included poultry, metal and sodium carbonate.
Trade between the two countries is expected to grow in the next 12 months as the final touches to the North-South railway line between the countries are made.
Azerbaijan’s relations with Iran continue to warm. The country’s President Ilham Aliyev said on August 12 at a Caspian Sea summit that his nation would continue to trade with Iran despite the reimposition of heavy US sanctions against Iran and the threat of heavy sanctions hitting any country or company that continues doing business with the Iranians.
July 31 also saw Reuters report that imports of Iranian crude by major buyers in Asia fell to a seven-month low in June, as South Korea lowered imports significantly ahead of the sanctions.
Basing its figures on government and ship-tracking data, it added that China, India, Japan and South Korea last month imported 1.45mn barrels per day (b/d) from Iran, down 0.5% y/y.
Top buyer China's imports of Iranian crude in June rose about 2% y/y from a year ago to 525,000 b/d, while second biggest buyer India's imports from Iran jumped nearly 20% from last year to around 593,000 b/d.
There is some evidence of countries accelerating purchases of Iranian oil to stock up before the sanctions deadline but Indian refiners reportedly ordered about 12% less Iranian oil in June than in May, when the reimpositon of sanctions on Iran was announced.
South Korean purchases slumped 41% y/y to 183,000 b/d. Sources were quoted by Reuters as saying South Korea will not lift any Iranian crude or condensate in July, halting all shipments for the first time in six years amid the pressure from Washington.
Trade between Iran and South Korea fell by 16.5% y/y to $5.126bn in the first six months of this year, ILNA reported the Korean Customs Service as saying on July 15. The Republic of Korea exported $1.72bn worth of goods to Iran in the first half of 2018, down 15% y/y. Its imports from Iran hit $3.4bn in the same time span, down 17% y/y. The decline in bilateral trade comes after a bumper 2017, with exports of Korean goods like electronics and vehicles flowing to Iran and exports of Iranian oil and petrochemicals heading
19 IRAN Country Report September 2018 www.intellinews.com