Iran's Foreign Trade Balance Shows Nearly $5 Billion Deficit

A report released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration reveals there has been a decline in the country’s export value of almost $5 billion between March and July 2023.

During this period, which marks the first five months of the Iranian calendar year, the total value of Iran's foreign trade reached $43.5 billion with 55.9 million tons of goods worth $19.3 billion being exported. Although Iran's exports have increased by about 27% compared to the same period last year, non-oil exports have decreased by 8.6% in terms of value.

The report shows that the amount of goods imported into Iran was 14.4 million tons worth $24.2 billion, which had a growth of 2.17% in terms of weight and 7.49% in terms of value. However, Iran's overall trade balance was in deficit of $4.9 billion at the end of these five months.

The main reason for the decrease, according to customs experts, is the decline in the global prices of petrochemical exports, which account for a big share of the Iranian exported output.

According to the customs administration, the main destinations for Iran's exports were China with $5.6 billion, Iraq with $3.5 billion, the United Arab Emirates with $2.3 billion, Turkey with $2.2 billion, and India with $845 million – with these nations accounting for over 75% of weight and approximately 75% of the total export value from March to July.

The geography for imported goods bore a similar profile with the United Arab Emirates at $7.3 billion, China at $7.1 billion, Turkey at $2.5 billion, Germany at $879 million, and India at $813 million.