TEHRAN – The value of non-oil exports from Kerman province, in the southeast of Iran, rose 306 percent during the first month of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-April 20), as compared to the same month of the past year, according to a provincial official.

Mohammadreza Qader, the director-general of Kerman’s customs department, said that 27,328 tons of commodities worth over $57 million have been exported from the province during the first month of this year, indicating also a 650-percent rise in terms of weight year on year.
He named China, India, Germany, Iraq, Turkey, the Unites Arab Emirates (UAE), Italy, and Russia as the export destinations of the province’s commodities.
The official further announced that commodities worth $22.674 million have been imported to the province during the first month, and mentioned China, Britain, the UAE, Japan, South Korea, India, Malaysia, Germany, Spain, and Italy as the main sources of export to Kerman in the mentioned month.
Iran exported 8.302 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $2.968 billion in the first month of the current Iranian calendar year, registering an 80 percent rise in terms of value compared to the same period in the previous year.
According to the Head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi, the country’s non-oil exports in the said period also increased by 56 percent in terms of weight.
Iran traded 10.343 million tons of non-oil goods worth $5.762 billion with its trade partners in the mentioned month, Mir-Ashrafi stated.
The country’s trade balance was $174 million positive in the said month, according to the official.
China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, and Afghanistan were the Islamic Republic’s top export destinations in the period under review.
Mir-Ashrafi noted that gasoline was the top exported item in the mentioned month.
According to the official, Iran also imported 2.041 million tons of goods worth $2.794 billion in the said month, which indicated an 18 percent decrease in terms of weight and a 47 percent increase in terms of value.
Mobile phones, sunflower oil, wheat, rice, and meal were the top imported items of the country during the mentioned period.
The UAE, China, Turkey, India, and Russia were Iran’s top five import sources in the mentioned month.
The value of Iran’s non-oil trade stood at $73 billion in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 20).
According to Mir-Ashrafi, Iran’s non-oil export was 112 million tons valued at $34.5 billion, while that of import was 34.4 million tons worth $38.5 billion in the past year, the official added.
MA/MA