TEHRAN – The Iranian banking system has paid 5.951 trillion rials (about $141.6 million) of facilities to export-oriented production units during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry’s data showed.

The mentioned facilities have been paid to 43 units, IRNA reported.

Based on the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry’s data, over 26 units have also been introduced to banks to receive 6.48 trillion rials ($154.5 million) of facilities in the said two months.

Promoting exports in line with the support of domestic production has been one of the main strategies of the Ministry of Industry over the past two years.

In this regard, the trade policies of the ministry for the current Iranian calendar year (started on March 21), which is named the year of “Production: Support and Elimination of Obstacles”, have been mainly focused on the development of production, employment and development of non-oil exports and eventually entering new markets.

According to the Central Bank of Iran’s (CBI) latest data, Iranian banking system has paid 2.74 quadrillion rials (over $65.2 billion) of facilities to various domestic economic sectors in the first two months of the current calendar year, registering a 46.6-percent rise from the same period in the previous year.

Working capital loans paid to different economic sectors in the mentioned two months were above 2.018 quadrillion rials (about $47.85 billion), accounting for 73.7 percent of the total provided facilities.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $6.3 billion in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year, up 48 percent compared to the last year’s same period, according to the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Iran exported 16.9 million tons of non-oil commodities including gasoline, polyethylene, methanol, iron and steel ingots and steel products to foreign destinations in the mentioned two months, according to Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi.

In total, the Islamic Republic traded 22.2 million tons of such goods worth $12.8 billion with its trade partners in the period under review, up 6.6 percent and 38 percent in terms of weight and value, respectively, Mir-Ashrafi said.

EF/MA