Iran’s Sanctions-Busting Non-Oil Exports

Date: 28 December 2024 - 21:46

News ID: ۱۳۵۲۱۶

By: Kayhan Int’l Staff Writer

Iran, the world’s 17th largest country, is super rich in hydrocarbon reserves, ranking second in natural gas deposits and fourth in oil resources, earning over 53 billion dollars annually in petroleum exports.

Despite the economic terrorism of the US in the form of illegal sanctions, the Islamic Republic’s trade with the world has grown in leaps and bounds to the horror of its enemies, who unable to restrict Iran’s hydrocarbon earnings are now aghast at the spectacular income flowing into Tehran’s coffers from non-oil exports.

In the first nine months of the current year Iran earned over 43 billion dollars through non-oil exports, an 18 percent increase compared to the same period last year.

This indicates that in the next three months by the end of the current Iranian year, the non-oil exports may well cross the 50 billion dollar mark.

Iran is rich in mineral resources that include coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur, and now lithium also called the white gold.

If crude oil is ‘black gold’, of which Iran has huge deposits, the country is also the largest producer and exporter of ‘red gold’ or saffron.

This is ample proof of Iran’s flourishing agriculture that includes a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, flowers, medicinal herbs and decorative plants, all of which are in high demand in world markets.

Iran’s marine products or the fisheries sector that includes various kinds of large and small fishes as well as the prized prawns and shrimps of the Persian Gulf are amongst the Islamic Republic’s growing supply of food items.

Iran has also a high level of specialization in sheepskins, goatskins pickled animal hides, and the famous handmade Persian woolen and silken carpets, besides marble, travertine, alabaster, and granite quarried from deposits all over the country.

In addition, the Islamic Republic, with its scientific research and expanding technology, produces for home consumption and exports, data-x-items ranging from cosmetics and household appliances to huge machinery such as automobiles and tractors, along with the offer of expert services to customers abroad.

The highest complexity exports of Iran according to the product complexity index (PCI) are glass; cast glass and rolled glass in sheets or profiles, and of course steel in a wide variety of forms, including sheets, beams, and the like.

Among Iran’s chief customers, China remained the largest destination of non-oil exports at 11 billion dollars, followed by Iraq 9.4 billion dollars, the United Arab Emirates 5.3 billion dollars, Turkey 5.2 billion dollars, Afghanistan 1.7 billion dollars, Pakistan 1.7 billion dollars, and India 1.4 billion dollars.

These seven countries collectively accounted for 82.85 percent of the total export value of Iranian exports that are shipped by land, sea, and air to the exasperation of the US and West European regimes.