Iran’s foreign trade reaches $100 billion in seven months to late October

Tehran, IRNA – Mohammad Rezvanifar, the head of Iran's customs administration (IRICA), announced that Iran's foreign trade has reached nearly $100 billion in the first seven months of the Iranian calendar year (March 20 – October 21, 2024).

Speaking on Sunday, Rezvanifar stated that of the total $99.7 billion in foreign trade, $60.2 billion was attributed to exports, while imports accounted for $39.5 billion.

He highlighted that non-oil exports reached $32.5 billion during this period, marking a 15% increase in comparison to last year’s corresponding period.

Rezvanifar also noted that Iran's trade balance, excluding exports of crude oil, fuel oil, and technical and engineering services, showed a deficit of about $7 billion. However, with oil and technical service exports included, the country achieved a trade surplus of $20.7 billion.

China remains Iran’s top export destination

Rezvanifar added that Iran's largest export markets during this period were led by China at $8.6 billion, followed by Iraq at $7.3 billion, the United Arab Emirates at $4.2 billion, Turkey at $3.3 billion, Afghanistan at $1.3 billion, Pakistan at $1.2 billion, and India at $1.1 billion. Collectively, these seven countries accounted for 82% of Iran’s export volume and 83% of its total export value.

On the import side, he reported that the primary sources of Iran’s imports were the United Arab Emirates at $12 billion, China at $10.2 billion, Turkey at $6.6 billion, Germany at $1.4 billion, Russia at $1 billion, India at $900 million, and Hong Kong at $700 million. Together, these countries contributed 77% of the import volume and 83% of total import value.