Page 21 - IRANRptFeb19

Iran reports non-oil trade surplus of $2bn for first seven Persian months
importers will pay the price of the goods to the Iranian government,” said Hossein Tanhaee, head of the Iran-South Korea Chamber of Commerce, IRNA reported.
The East Asian country has a strong place in Iran’s economy with LG, Samsung, Hyundai, Kia and Ssangyong Motor among South Korean companies present on the Iranian market.
Iran recorded a non-oil trade surplus of around $2bn for the first seven months of the current Persian calendar year (March 21), according to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA). The surplus, calculated at the official exchange rate of IRR42,000 to the dollar rather than the free market rate which stands at IRR116,000, might suggest the country is still doing relatively well despite the US move to strangle its economy with renewed heavy sanctions. However, the IMF says the sanctions have sent Iran into recession.
Iran’s non-oil exports over the period stood at $31.4bn, up 13% y/y, IRICA said. The Administration also noted that during the seven months Iran’s imports fell by 12.5% y/y to $29.5bn. Since the sanctions were announced, many Iranian companies have struggled to bring in the goods they require given the reluctance of trade counter-parties abroad to expose themselves to secondary US sanctions.
Iran’s non-oil exports include gas and condensates. Condensates was the largest exported product from the country in the seven-month period at a value of $2.7bn. Liquefied propane exports reached $1.3bn, light oil products excluding petrol $1.1bn and methanol $1bn.
The US introduced its sanctions targeted at Iran’s oil, gas and petrochemicals on November 5. The period reported on only extends to October 22.
Imported feed corn stood at $1.2bn in value, auto parts $1.1bn, rice $1.1bn and soybeans $0.9bn. Soybean imports included shipments from the US due to lost orders in China amid the two countries’ trade battle.
Iraq remained the biggest buyer of Iranian products. Goods worth $6.7bn were exported to the neighbour, up 66.5% y/y.
Despite the hostility of the United Arab Emirates, which supports the US sanctions campaign, Dubai imported some $5.9bn in Iranian goods. China took in items worth $6.4bn.
Among the biggest exporters to Iran were China ($7.3bn), the UAE ($4.4bn), South Korea ($1.7bn) and India ($1.6bn).
5.1.3 Gross international reserves
Iran’s gold Imami sovereign breaks IRR25mn barrier amid dwindling hard currency supplies
Iran’s gold sovereign of choice, the Imami, has again broken the IRR25mn barrier as buyers continue to purchase remaining stocks of the officially minted 18-carat coin, IBENA reported on June 18.
Iranians’ attraction to gold as a safe haven has intensified with hard currency supplies dwindling in Iran following legal changes suddenly brought in in early April to arrest the stark descent of the Iranian rial (IRR), hit by souring sentiment over Iran’s economic prospects in the face of hostility from the US Trump administration. The move banned open market trading of foreign exchange and made unofficial rates illegal.
In early May, a World Gold Council report said that gold coin and bar demand in Iran shot up to a three-year high of 9.3 tonnes in the first quarter as Iranians —correctly—anticipated that the consequences of deteriorating relations with the US would cause Tehran to introduce currency controls.
21 IRAN Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com