TEHRAN – The value of Iran’s exports of agricultural and foodstuff products increased by 19 percent in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-August 22), an official with the Central Organization for Rural Cooperatives of Iran said.

According to Ruhollah Latifi, Iranian producers managed to export 3.053 million tons of the mentioned products, also registering a three percent rise in terms of weight, IRNA reported.

As reported, of the total exports, 2.86 million tons with a value of $1.68 billion went to 15 neighboring countries, which accounted for 84 percent of the total value and 94 percent of the total weight of the exports in the mentioned period.

Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Russia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey were the top importers of Iranian ago-food products in the said five months, according to Latifi.

The value of Iran’s non-oil exports during the first five months of the current year reached $19.3 billion, according to the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

Based on IRICA data, Iran exported about 55.9 million tons of non-oil goods valued at $19.3 billion in the mentioned five months, registering an 8.55-percent decline in value and a 26.56-percent rise in terms of weight.

According to the IRICA, the main reason for the decline in the country’s export value in the mentioned period is the decrease in the global price of petrochemical products which account for a big share of the Iranian export basket.

As reported, the import of goods in the five months of this year also reached 14.4 million tons worth $24.2 billion, indicating a 7.49 percent growth in value and a 2.17 percent increase in weight, year on year.

The average value of each ton of exported goods was 346 dollars and the average customs value of each ton of imported goods was 1,677 dollars in the mentioned five months.

Major export destinations of Iranian non-oil goods were China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and India during the said time span.

The mentioned five countries accounted for 75.13 percent of the weight and 74.77 percent of the value of Iran’s total exports in the five months of this year.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates was the top exporter to Iran in the mentioned five months, followed by China, Turkey, India, and Germany.

As previously announced by IRICA, Iran’s non-oil trade reached $35.445 billion during the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-July 22).

Iran exported 45.758 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $15.906 billion in the mentioned four months, while 11.842 million tons of goods valued at $19.539 billion were imported into the country.

EF/MA