TEHRAN – Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) data show that the value of Iran’s non-oil trade with BRICS group of countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, hit $38.43 billion in the 2022-2023 fiscal years.
The data indicated that non-oil trade between Iran and BRICS member states, comprising newly-emerging economies in the world, represented a 14 percent increase compared to a year earlier.
In recent months, BRICS has seen a surge of interest from Global South nations looking to ditch the U.S. dollar and the hegemonic Western financial system.
Another statistic showed that China, with $30.32 billion worth of trade, is Iran’s main trade partner in BRICS, followed by India ($4.99 billion), Russia ($2.32 billion), Brazil ($466.55 million) and South Africa ($322.04 million).
The economic report comes just days after Tehran revealed that trade with African nations increased by 2.24 percent in fiscal year 2022-23, to reach $1.2 billion.
Despite the “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign from the West, the Islamic Republic has managed to overcome the unilateral restrictions and bolster industrial capacity, according to oilprice.com.
Iran, alongside five Arab nations, has formally requested to join the alliance. BRICS foreign ministers will hold an annual summit in Cape Town during the first week of June to discuss the membership applications.