Figures show Iran’s trade balance positive

Latest official figures show that Iran’s trade balance over a period of 10 months, starting March 2016, remained in the positive territory.

According to Press TV, figures released by the Customs Administration of Iran showed that the country’s non-oil exports over 10 months stood at $35.2 billion, registering a moderate increase of 8.3 percent compared to the same period last year.

Imports also stood at $34.9 billion which indicated a minor rise of 3.2 percent compared to last year.

Condensate was the most important export item and accounted for 17 percent of Iran’s total non-oil exports with a collective value of $6.2 billion over the period.

Next key products were liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as well as different kinds of light industrial oil each with a value of $1.9 billion and $1.3 billion. 

Top on the list of import items were corn ($1.1 billion), soy bean ($0.7 billion), auto parts for assembly projects ($0.6 billion) as well as motorcycle parts.       

The biggest client of Iranian goods was China which imported $6.5 billion from the Islamic Republic over the period. The figure shows an increase of around 10 percent compared to the same period last year. 

China was followed by the United Arab Emirates ($5.6 billion), Iraq ($5.3 billion), Turkey ($2.8 billion) and South Korea ($2.5 billion) as top importers from Iran.

SS