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     Iranian calendar year, representing around 41% of the country’s total non-oil trade.
Iran plans to launch 15 mega export projects to identify more target markets, according to TPO’s former acting head, Mohammadreza Modoudi.
 5.1.1 ​current account dynamics
   Iran current account, USD mn
  2011
     2012
 2013
     2014
   2015
   2016
 2017
    2018
 Balance of payments overall
  -947
  21,436
   12,213
    13,189
     8,561
      2,233
         Current account balance
 27,554
    58,507
23,362
    25,105
 15,861
 1,237
16,388
   15,816
   Current account balance: % of GDP
   5.66
      10.08
 3.87
      5.43
    3.12
    0.32
 3.92
        Total Exports
   130,500
      95,500
 82,000
      88,800
    63,000
           Total Imports
  62,661
  59,999
   51,914
    48,138
     52,007
      40,097
    41,945
    54,459
 Trade Balance
 68,692
 42,049
32,291
  35,231
  20,5000
      Source: CEIC, Central Bank of Iran
    Iran had over $100bn of gross official reserves in 2019, says IMF
   The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimated that the government held $112bn of foreign assets and reserves in March last year. It also indicated that Iran ran a current account surplus.​The figures imply that Iran might withstand the sanctions without an external payments crisis.
But the IMF also noted that Tehran was having difficulty accessing some of its reserves as its relations with foreign banks were constrained by the threat of US sanctions. Meanwhile, sanctions could cut the current account surplus sharply given the severe disruption they are causing to trade.
The IMF estimated in its latest World Economic Outlook released on April 14 that Iran’s current account balance​ across 2019, 2020 and 2021 would likely be at -0.1%, -4.1% and -3.4% of GDP, respectively, as a result of the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
 5.1.2 I​mport/export dynamics
    Turkmenistan reportedly relaunches imports of Iranian groceries
   Turkmenistan has relaunched imports of Iranian food products and other basic goods, exiled opposition-run news website Chronicles of Turkmenistan reported on April 12.
Iranian products disappeared off the shelves of Turkmen grocery stores in February after Turkmenistan locked down its borders due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
According to the report, some of the Iran-produced groceries that have returned to Turkmen stores included paper napkins, toilet paper, yellow and red apples, Feta cheese, curd cheese, ice cream and crackers. Turkmenistan has been experiencing a shortage of basic goods for several years now. The situation has been exacerbated by measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
 18​ IRAN Country Report May 2020 www.intellinews.com
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