Iran: Trade with Russia was in surplus in July-August

Iran’s ministry of trade (MIMT) says trade with Russia was in surplus for a first time in July-August amid a surge in sales of manufacturing products to Russian customers.

An MIMT statement published in the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) on Wednesday said that Iranian exports to Russia had jumped in the two calendar months to August 22.

However, the statement did not provide any exact figure about the value of the Iranian exports to Russia over the July-August period.

It said total exports to Russia in the five months to late August had amounted to more than $291 million, an increase of 32% against the same period in 2021 and up 20.2% compared with the entire calendar year to late March.

That comes as Iran had a trade deficit of more than $424 million with Russia in the five months to late August, according to the figures announced in the statement.

The MIMT reiterated that higher Iranian exports to Russia over July and August were mainly due to a surge in exports of manufacturing precuts.

“Iran’s mix of export to Russia has changed to cover more manufacturing products rather than agricultural products,” read part of the statement.

Russia has sought to deepen its economic and trade ties with Iran since February when it came under an inclusive regime of Western sanctions because of the war in Ukraine.

SS