Iranian official: Iran-Persian Gulf states annual trade stands at $30 billion

TEHRAN,July 11(MNA) - The value of trade between Iran and the Persian Gulf Arab states is currently around $30 billion annually, an official with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said. Hassan Zarnegar, the deputy director of the department for Persian Gulf affairs, told that the UAE and Oman are the main trading partners of Iran in the region. “Oil, food products, handmade carpets and agricultural products are the major exported goods of Iran to the Persian Gulf states,” he said. Iran exported some $8.9 billion worth of non-oil goods in the first three months of this year, which began on March 20, the Customs Administration head said. The IRNA News Agency quoted Abbas Memarnejad as saying that the country imported as much as $12.5 billion worth of goods during the same period. Urea fertilizer, polyethylene and tar are the major non-oil goods which are exported to Iraq, China, UAE, and Afghanistan. The main imported goods are iron and steel ingots, corn and wheat, he said. Iran has scaled up its trade with 160 countries in the past year, despite being targeted by global economic sanctions, Memarnejad said in April. He added that the non-oil trade balance decreased to $17.9 billion last year from $30.5 billion the year before. He said that exports had risen by 28 percent year on year, while imports fell by four percent. Iran exported $43.7 billion worth of non-oil goods last year and imported $61.8 billion worth of goods, hitting the unprecedented mark of $105 billion in annual trade.