Iran Eyes $32bn Worth of Export to 15 Nearby Countries

Date: 24 June 2019 - 21:43

News ID: ۶۷۳۷۳

TEHRAN (Press TV) - A senior official at Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade has said that the country is seeking to export some $32 billion worth of goods and services to nearby countries in the current Iranian calendar year, which ends in March.
"We have projected a $32-billion export target for goods and services to 15 neighboring and nearby countries in our plan this year,” said Sadeq Najafi, a senior advisor in the ministry.
The official, who was meeting members of the Iranian parliament responsible for special economic zones (SEZ), said that the ministry had special plans for empowering small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in those areas.
He said the ministry will provide the SMEs with access to export consortium programs while manufacturers will no longer be required to place special orders for importing their raw materials.
Iran exported some $24.06 billion worth of non-oil commodities to 15 neighboring and nearby countries last year ending March 20, 2019.
The country’s non-oil trade surplus with those countries, namely the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Russia, Oman, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Kuwait, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, stood at $12.54 billion in that period.
The planned rise in Iran’s non-oil export comes as the country is seeking to offset the impacts of a series of sanctions imposed by the United States on its oil industry.
Devaluation of Iran’s rial over the past year, which came as a result of U.S. sanctions, has also helped exporters to find more markets abroad.
Iraq is currently the main nearby destination of Iran’s non-oil export. Official figures last year showed that the Arab country imported some $8.961 billion worth of goods from Iran, an increase of 37 percent compared to the annual period ending in March 2018.