Page 31 - IRANRptSep22

Iran’s exports to EEU states grow 12% in last Persian year, imports leap 90%
business relations centre in Armenia.
Iranian exports to member states of the Moscow-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) expanded by 12% y/y in the last Persian calendar year (ended March 20) to more than $1.17bn, Mehr News Agency has reported.
Imports were up 90% y/y to $4.47bn, according to the cited data from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).
The Russian Federation at $583.66mn was the top destination for Iranian products in the EEU, after which came Armenia at $302.34mn, Kazakhstan at $188.87mn, Kyrgyzstan at $78.9mn and Belarus at $16.81mn.
In terms of imports, the top five were ranked thus: Russian Federation at $4.05bn, Kazakhstan at $379.27mn, Belarus at $28.61mn, Armenia at $9.07mn and Kyrgyzstan at $1.66mn.
Iran and the EEU reached a three-year interim preferential trade agreement (PTA) in October 2018, based on which around 862 commodities were subjected to preferential tariffs. It came into effect in October, 2019. There are plans to upgrade the PTA into a free trade agreement (FTA) by the end of this year.
5.1.3 Gross international reserves
Cited IMF data shows Iran’s accessible FX reserves expanding 94% in year to date to $41bn
Iran’s official accessible FX reserves have expanded by some 94% in the year to date to $41.4bn from $21.3bn at the end of 2021, Tasnim News Agency reported on August 21, citing data released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The IMF put Iran’s gross official reserves at towards $15bn in 2019 and $12.4bn in 2020, marking a huge decline from 2018’s $122.5bn. The steep descent came after former US president Donald Trump in May 2018 unleashed his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran by imposing the “toughest ever” sanctions. The nosedive was caused by unilateral sanctions introduced by Washington that blocked Iran’s access to its funds held overseas through the international financial system, the IMF noted.
Iran’s fortunes in accessing its reserves appear to have improved with the arrival of Joe Biden in the Oval Office in January 2021. The Biden administration has eased off on Iran in comparison to the Trump White House, while it has sought to bring back the 2015 nuclear deal designed to curb the Iranian nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The government of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which took office in August last year, has meanwhile conducted active diplomacy to offset US sanctions. Part of that has involved lobbying sympathetic nations where Iranian funds are held to provide Tehran with access to the funds.
The IMF, according to Tasnim, also forecast that the value of Iran's GDP, when adjusted for purchasing power parity, or PPP, would move up from $1,436 trillion in 2021 to $1.573 trillion in 2022, ranking Iran 21st worldwide.
The Fund’s 2022 forecast for Iran’s GDP per capita, when adjusted for PPP, was $18,332, placing Iranians 66th on the world ranking, according to the Fund.
31 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com