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MEOG Pi P elines & t rans P ort MEOG

Iranian exports drop along

with demand for crude

iran CuSTOMS data has shown that Iranian exports showed that imports from Iran fell to $300mn
have dropped precipitously through the first half from January-April this year, from $2.2bn dur-
of 2020. The Islamic Republic’s economic hard- ing the same period last year.
ship has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 The starkest drop-off for early 2020 exports
pandemic. from Iran comes in the form of those to South
Already struggling following the slow death Korea, which totalled just $5mn, down from
of talks with foreign powers to bring an end to $2bn during the first five months of 2019. Iran’s
sanctions, Radio Farda this week cited statis- imports from South Korea during the period
tics from Iran’s major foreign trade partners as have fallen to $75mn from around $300mn a
showing a significant drop in imports from the year earlier.
country since the start of the year.
The media outlet noted that while official Pars products
Iranian customs data has not been published Despite the drop in total exports, the Pars Spe-
since early 2019, statistics from China, India and cial Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) Customs
South Korea show a major drop off over the past Department General reported this week that
five months. 4.4mn tonnes of oil products, worth $1.09bn had
Chinese imports of Iranian goods are down been exported between March 20 and June 20.
62% from the same point last year to $2.7bn, The department’s head Amir Abbas Hamidi,
with average crude imports down 87% to 82,000 was quoted by local Iranian media as saying that
barrels per day, while Iran’s imports of Chinese PSEEZ’s exports of non-oil products “is experi-
goods has remained almost constant. encing an increasing trend despite limitations
The performance of exports to India has been and restrictions imposed by the uS.”
even worse, with sanctions on the purchase of He noted that the exports during the period
Iranian oil resulting in the total value dropping mainly included methanol, propane, butane,
from $2.84bn to $100mn between 2018 and light- and heavy polyethylene, gas condensates,
2020. Meanwhile, Iranian imports of Indian ammonia, sulphur, styrene and crude oil, with
goods dropped by 43% from January through importing countries including the key markets
April, to $971mn. mentioned above, as well as Egypt, Germany,
The same reason was cited for the massive Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait and the
reduction in exports to Japan, which have fallen uAE.
dramatically from the 2019 total of $1.155bn to The increase in exports was reflected in the
just $17mn during the first five months of this growing role of the PSEEZ, from where more
year. than 4,622 tonnes of products originated, up
Data from the Turkish Statistics Center 29% on 2019 levels.™

Week 26 01•July•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P7