TEHRAN- The value of exports from Isfahan province rose 150 percent during the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-June 21), as compared to the first quarter of the past year, a provincial official announced.

Rasoul Kouhestani-Pajouh, the director-general of Isfahan’s customs department, said that 570,025 tons of commodities worth $368.073 million was exported from the province in the first quarter, showing also 82 percent rise in terms of weight.

Existence of the industrial hubs in the province such as steel, textiles, home appliances, paints, and military industries is one of the reasons for the importance of Isfahan Customs.

As announced by the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil exports reached $10.7 billion in the first three months of the current Iranian calendar year, up 69 percent compared to the last year’s same period.

According to Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi, Iran exported 30 million tons of non-oil commodities in the mentioned three months, registering a 38-percent rise compared to the figure for the last year’s Q1.

Meanwhile, some 8.4 million tons of goods valued at $10.2 billion were also imported into the country in the said period to register a 34-percent rise in terms of value compared to the last year’s same quarter.

In total, the Islamic Republic traded 38.4 million tons of non-oil goods worth $20.9 billion with its trade partners in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year, up 25 percent and 50 percent in terms of weight and value, respectively, Mir-Ashrafi said.

According to the official, the country’s trade balance was $476 million positive in the mentioned time span.

Iran's top five non-oil export destinations during this period were China with $3.1 billion worth of exports, Iraq with $2.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with over $1.3 billion, Turkey with $595 million, and Afghanistan with $570 million.

Meanwhile, the country’s top five sources of imports during these two months were the UAE with $3.2 billion, China with $2.2 billion, Turkey with $1 billion, Germany with $414 million, and Switzerland with $384 million worth of imports.

The official also noted that over 2.742 million tons of goods were transited through Iran in the said period, registering a 121-percent rise compared to the same period in the previous year.

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