TEHRAN- Iran’s Customs Administration has announced that the country's foreign non-oil trade in the past Iranian calendar year 1404 (ended on March 20) reached $109.673 billion.

According to a report by IRNA, citing the Public Relations Department of Iran’s Customs Administration, the weight of foreign trade during the stated period amounted to 191.588 million tons. 

Based on this report, out of the total foreign trade in 1404, 150.508 million tons valued at $51.657 billion were allocated to non-oil exports, while 41.080 million tons worth $58.016 billion were allocated to imports. 

Regarding non-oil exports, the main destinations included China, Iraq, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Afghanistan. Key export commodities consisted of petrochemical products, natural gas condensates, steel and iron products, fruits and nuts (particularly pistachios and dates), cement, and various plastic materials. 

The export volume showed a slight increase compared to the previous year, despite ongoing sanctions and regional logistics challenges. Imports primarily consisted of intermediate goods, machinery, medical equipment, food products (including rice and corn), and raw materials for manufacturing. China and the UAE remained the top sources of Iran’s imports. 

The trade deficit of approximately $6.36 billion reflects continued pressure on Iran’s non-oil sector, though petrochemical exports helped narrow the gap significantly compared to earlier years. 

As previously reported, Iran exported over 152 million tons of non-oil goods worth $57.8 billion in year 1403, which ended on March 20, 2025.

This marked a 10 percent increase in volume and a 15.62 percent rise in value compared to the previous year, according to Abolfazl Akbarpour, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) for planning and international affairs.

Imports totaled 39.3 million tons valued at $72.4 billion, representing a 0.77 percent decline in weight but an 8.22 percent increase in value from the previous year. The result was a non-oil trade deficit of $14.6 billion, largely due to the import of over $8.0 billion worth of raw gold bars, which accounted for 11.12 percent of the total import value.

Iran’s main non-oil exports included natural gas, liquefied propane and butane, methanol, liquefied petroleum gases and hydrocarbon gases, and gas condensates.

Natural gas was the top export item, with an average customs value of $314 per ton.

Other leading exports were petroleum bitumen, urea, non-alloy iron and steel billets, iron or steel bars, and polyethylene.

The top destinations for Iran’s exports were China at $14.8 billion, Iraq at $11.9 billion, the United Arab Emirates at $7.2 billion, Turkey at $6.8 billion, Pakistan and Afghanistan at $2.4 billion each, and India at $1.9 billion. These seven countries accounted for $47.6 billion, or 82.3 percent of Iran’s total non-oil export value.

On the import side, essential goods such as corn feed, soybean meal, genetically modified soybeans, rice, and sunflower seed oil were among the top items. Other key imports included smartphones, tractors, and auto parts.

The UAE was Iran’s largest source of imports at $21.9 billion, followed by China at $19.3 billion, Turkey at $12.4 billion, Germany at $2.4 billion, India at $1.7 billion, Hong Kong at approximately $1.4 billion, and Russia at $1.3 billion. Together, these countries supplied goods worth $60.7 billion, or 83.8 percent of Iran’s total imports.

Akbarpour said the trade deficit could be largely attributed to the surge in gold imports, which on their own exceeded $8.0 billion.

MA