Page 21 - IRANRptMar21

5.1.2 ​Import/export dynamics
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.
21​ IRAN Country Report March 2021 www.intellinews.com