Page 24 - IRANRptMay21

Iran’s non-oil commodities trade hits $66bn in first 11 months of Persian year
Trade between Iran and Turkey contracts 46% in virus-hit 2020
Iran’s non-oil commodities trade hit a value of $65.5bn in the first 11 months of the current Persian year (March 20, 2020-February 18, 2021), according to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), as reported by IRIB.
The exports were worth $31.2bn while the value of imports reached $34.3bn, Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi was cited as saying. Imports were down 15% y/y. No year on year comparison was given for exports.
Iran's top five non-oil export destinations during the period were China ($8.1bn), Iraq ($6.8bn), the United Arab Emirates ($4.1bn), Turkey ($2.2bn) and Afghanistan ($2.1bn), the data showed. The five countries accounted for 75% percent of Iran’s non-oil exports.
The top five sources of imports were China ($8.8bn), the UAE ($8.4bn), Turkey ($3.8bn), India ($2bn) and Germany ($1.7bn). The group of countries accounted for 72% of Iran’s total import value.
Of the total imported commodities, basic goods accounted for a value of $11bn, the figures also showed.
Trade between Iran and Turkey contracted sharply by 45.8% y/y to $3.43bn in 2020, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK, or TurkStat).
Iran’s exports to Turkey reached $1.19bn, marking a 66.9% y/y decline, while Turkey’s exports to Iran were valued at $2.25bn, down 17.97% y/y.
The impacts of the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis were no doubt the main cause of the marked fall in bilateral trade.
Things picked up in December, when the trade value hit $502.6mn, 35% up on December 2019. Iran’s exports to Turkey—up 49% y/y—accounted for $185mn of that figure. Turkey’s exports to Iran came in at $317.1mn, up 28.9% y/y.
5.1.3 Gross international reserves
Iran’s foreign exchange reserves $85bn in 2020, estimates IMF
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 2020. The country’s gross official reserves will experience a $13.3bn jump in the current year rising from last year’s $95.1bn.
In an April report, the IMF predicted that Iran's foreign exchange reserves would be $85bn in 2020, but around 90% of the reserves are frozen abroad by sanctions.
5.2 FTA, multilateral agreements
Iranian official envisages trade with EEU soaring from $30bn to $3.5bn
Iran and the member states of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) did $2.1bn of trade in the Persian calendar year that ended on March 20, according to data released by the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA).
The figure was 11% down year on year. Impacts of the coronavirus crisis were blamed by TCCIMA for the contraction.
Potential exists to boost Iran’s annual trade with the five member countries of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) to $30bn from the present $3.5bn, according to the deputy president of the Trade Development Organisation of Iran (TDO), as reported by IRNA.
For two years, Iran and the EEU—made up of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—have operated a preferential trade agreement (PTA) covering more than 800 products. That deal is set to expire towards the
24 IRAN Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com