Page 27 - IRANRptJul22

Iran records $401mn non-oil trade surplus in first two Persian months
Iran plans to introduce barter trading with African nations
Iranian minister says $1bn export goal for Armenia ‘achievable’
economy, severely undermined by years of US sanctions. Though it has called on Russia and Ukraine to achieve a peace at the negotiating table, Tehran has not condemned the Russian invasion, saying Nato bears much responsibility for creating a situation that sparked the conflict.
Non-oil trade between Iran and the rest of the world stood at $16.63bn in the first two months of the Persian calendar year (started March 21), providing Iran with a trade surplus of $401mn, according to data from Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) as cited by IRIB News.
Exports rose 37% y/y to $8.52bn. Imports gained by 24% y/y to $8.12bn. China was Iran’s largest trade partner. Exports to China reached $2.72bn, while imports from China stood at $2.12bn.
The United Arab Emirates, the main re-export hub in the Persian Gulf, was the largest supplier of goods to Iran in the two months, said IRICA. UAE exports to Iran amounted to $2.25bn. Iranian exports to the UAE were valued at $1.5bn. Iranian exports to Iraq amounted to $1.312bn in value and to Turkey and India $766mn and $290mn, respectively.
Imports from Turkey and Russia were valued at $875mn and $319mn, respectively, other cited data showed.
Iran is planning to set up barter trading with trade partners in Africa.
“Given the implementation of the [Iranian] Trade Facilitation Organisation's barter trade mechanism with several countries, we hope to benefit from this platform with African trade partners as well,” Ahmad-Reza Alai Tabatabaei, deputy head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO), with responsibility for export market development said.
TPO has prepared a list of 1,100 items that could be included in barter trading with African countries, Tabatabaei added.
Export infrastructure available for trade with Africa has been improved, while the presence of Iranian trade attaches in Africa has been strengthened, he also said.
Ghana is currently top-ranked for Iranian exports to Africa. Second is South Africa and third is Nigeria, Alai Tabatabaei said, without presenting figures. The biggest difficulty when it came to Iranian business people dealing with Africa was a lack of knowledge of the various countries with trade potential and unfamiliarity with their markets, observed the official. Insufficient maritime transport infrastructure was also a problem, he added.
“The establishment of regular shipping lines, which we have recently observed in East Africa and which need to be strengthened, should also be carried out and regulated in West Africa. By allocating transport subsidies, we are trying to regulate these lines. So that traders can capitalise on the opportunities,” Alai Tabatabai said.
Referring to Iran's great potential in the field of technical and engineering services, he said: "African countries are among the most important importers of technical and engineering services in the world, and fortunately, Iran has become more advanced in this field in recent years."
An Iranian export goal of $1bn for Armenia is “achievable”, IRNA reported Iran’s Minister of Industry Mines and Trade Reza Fatemi Amin as saying in response to data showing the country’s exports to its small neighbour grew 20% y/y in last Persian year (ended March 20) to around $500mn.
Armenia is also important to Iran in that it is a strategic ally of Russia, with which Iran is also attempting to drive up trade—with new market share
27 IRAN Country Report July 2022 www.intellinews.com