“Considering the growth of [non-oil] exports in late 1398 [previous Iranian calendar year ended on March 19] which continued in the current year, the exports are expected to grow significantly in the second half of the year, and hopefully we will achieve the foreseen target,” Lahouti told ILNA.

“Of course, we missed the first quarter of this year due to the coronavirus outbreak and the closure of borders; however, since over 80 percent of the border crossings have been reopened, the exports growth will be much higher in [the Iranian calendar month of] Khordad (May 21-June 20),” he added.

He further noted that it could also be possible for the exports to increase in the second half of the year to even exceed the $42 billion target.

Mentioning the preferential trade deal with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the official said Eurasia will be a great export opportunity this year and we have also the largest markets in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“China and India are also among our target markets; we are trying to increase our exports to China and hopefully our exports to India will return to normal levels as well.”

According to Lahouti, the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade is targeting 15 neighboring countries for non-oil exports in the current year, and the diversity of the target markets has not changed much.

Iran to launch joint chamber office in Syria

Elsewhere in his remarks, the Export Confederation head said Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has purchased a building in Syria and the office of Iran-Syria joint chamber of commerce in the Arab country will be opened soon.

“Naturally, by launching the Iranian Chamber of Commerce office in Syria, we can expand exports and investment in this country,” he said.

“When the Syrian market opens and conditions return to normal, we will have various plans for this country as well.”

The official noted that Syria is looking for joint investment, and Iran’s goal is to increase non-oil export to the country.

“Syria is also a good market for joint ventures, but infrastructure must be provided and protocols must be followed,” Lahouti emphasized.

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He said on Tuesday that export-oriented perspectives should be taken into consideration for promoting exports while boosting the quality of products is a prerequisite for spurring exports in the country, reported Mehr News Agency.

Iran’s 15 neighboring countries are home to about 500 million people, he said, adding, “These countries provide between $200 and $250 billion worth of export capacity for Iran.”

If barriers of trade and business activities were removed, Iran would be able to export $50 million worth of products to these countries, Al-e Es’haq noted.

He put the volume of products exported from Iran to neighboring Iraq over the past year at $13 billion, while about $9 billion worth of products were exported to Iraq in the first nine months of the current year (March 21 to Dec. 22, 2019).

Iran enjoys a high potential to export up to $20 billion, $6 billion and $5 billion worth of products to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, respectively, he stressed.

The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration (IRICA) said in January that despite the United States’ unilateral sanctions against the Iranian economy, the value of Iran’s foreign trade exceeded $72 billion during the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2019-January 20, 2020).

In an address to reporters on Sunday, Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi added that of this figure, $35.5 billion pertained to Iran’s exports and $36 billion to the country’s imports.

He noted that the value of Iran’s overseas sales in this period indicated a three-percent decline compared to the same period last year, saying the figure does not include the country’s exports of electricity and techno-engineering services.

The weight of the country’s exports in this time span, however, indicated a 20-percent growth year-on-year, IRICA head added.

In addition, Mir-Ashrafi said, Iran’s imports in the 10-month period to January 20 witnessed an eight-percent rise weight-wise, compared to the country’s purchases in the same time period last year, adding they did not indicate any year-on-year change in terms of value.

He said of Iran’s total imports in this period, 19 million tons pertained to the purchase of basic goods.

“In addition, fetching $15.8 billion in revenue, the export of petrochemicals from Iran accounted for 44 percent of the country’s total exports in this period.”

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‘Last year, 312,000 tons of textile and clothing products worth $1.93 billion were exported that shows a rise of nearly six percent in value and 26% in weight as compared to the preceding year’s corresponding period,” Afsaneh Mehrabi, director general of the Textile and Clothing Industry Office at the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade (MIMT) told IRNA on Sunday.

80,000 tons of textile floor coverings (carpets, rugs, …) worth 417 million dollars made up the bulk of the country’s last year textile exports, according to the official.

Also, Iran exported 10,000 tons of tissue paper as well as 180,000 tons of packaging materials, she noted.

Mehrabi added that Iranian textile manufacturers imported 397,000 tons of textile raw materials worth $1.120 billion during the same period, showing a reduction of 32 percent in value and 35 percent in weight. Fiber was the most imported item, she said.

Iran’s textile and clothing industry needs some $4 billion worth of raw materials, supplies and machinery, $2.5 billion of which is imported, she stressed.

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Director of Production Control in Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Alimohammad Bosaghzadeh pointed to five-month statistics for production and the four-month statistics for export of petrochemical products since the beginning of present Iranian year saying, “in the first five months, amount of production grew by six percent as compared to the similar period last year even though output figures normally drop in the first half of the year due to complete overhaul in complexes,” MNA reported.

The official, while voicing satisfaction towards the trend in production, estimated that the overall output level will grow by five million tons as compared to a year earlier.

He also underlined that efforts were being made to boost nominal capacity utilization to as high as 86 percent given that the figure for last year stood at 81 percent.

“Export volumes of petrochemical products have also risen in the ongoing year as the figures catapulted by 12 percent in volume and four percent in value.

Bosaghzadeh expressed hope that more feedstock will be supplied to petrochemical complexes in the second half of the year in a bid to realize a more sustainable production.

“In addition to development of the upstream sector, NPC has also put on agenda expansion of downstream projects with the aim of completing the production chain, which is turn, brings about a reduction in raw sales and an upsurge in sustainable employment opportunities,” he underlined.

The NPC official noted that a number of new petrochemical projects will come on stream later this year to further boost output capacity; “partnership of local banks and attraction of foreign investors can enhance the process.”

The production capacity for Iran’s petrochemical products is expected to reach 72 million tons worth 17 million dollars by the end of the present Iranian calendar year.

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Khosrowtaj, also deputy minister of industry, mines and trade, said that in the past seven months to October 21, $170 million worth of machine carpet and moquette and $166 million worth of hand-woven carpets were exported from the country.

Iran has set an export target of $50 billion

During the same period, $103 million worth of pharmaceuticals and medical equipment were exported from Iran, up by 50 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, he said.

According to Iran’s Customs House, Iran’s non-oil exports last year stood at $42.415 including $6.664 billion worth of gas condensates.

Iran has set an export target of $50 billion worth of goods and gas condensates for the current Iranian year (started March 21).

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Directors of National Iranian Gas Export Company and senior directors of Oman Ministry of Petroleum met with the envoys of French Total, British Royal Dutch shell and KOGAS are reportedly discussing Iranian project for gas exports to Oman.

Based on a 2013 deal between Iran and Oman, Iran will export 1.5 billion cubic feet/day of gas to Oman through a Persian Gulf seabed pipeline. Regarding its importance, the project will boost Iran-Oman ties and energy ties in the Middle East.

Iranian and Omani ministers of petroleum late August signed a Memorandum of Understanding for natural gas exports with regards to the emphasis of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Omani King Qaboos.

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He dismissed the “sheer lie” report that he had met Egyptian counterpart Tarek El Molla and said, “I have had no plan or contract in that connection.”

To a question whether such a meeting will be held in the future, he said, “That there might be a meeting is a separate topic. We will hold talks with anybody except Israel if so wishes.”

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On the basis of a report published by Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the volume of Iran’s non-oil exports to China from 2009 to 2013 stood at 18.767 billion dollars while the figure for 2013 henceforth has amounted to the aggregate total of 28.514 billion dollars.

Iran’s foreign trade statistics reveal that the country’s non-oil exports have undergone and unprecedented uplift since over the past four years as the volume for China rose from $7.458bn to $9.389bn only one year after the incumbent government took office in 2013.

China’s share in the total volume of Iran’s non-oil exports reached 18 per cent in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (began March 20).

The East Asian country ranks first in the Iranian exports market and purchased a total 4.438 billion dollars of goods from Iran from March 20 to October 21.

Given the natural rise in non-oil exports to China in final months of Iranian years, Iran’s volume of Exports to the East Asian state is expected to rise by 52 per cent since the incumbent Iranian government took office.

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Director of Production Control in Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Alimohammad Bosaghzadeh expressed satisfaction towards production volume of Iranian petrochemicals in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21); “the figure rose up by six per cent as compared with the corresponding period a year ago.”

The official touched upon oil price fluctuations and their effects on competitive conditions of the market in the Persian Gulf explaining “current situations harm all parties, NPC, however, seeks to control prices in the Middle and Far East.”

He further noted that large portion of Iran’s petrochemical exports are made to Far East and countries such as India, China and South Korea.

Bosaghzadeh also stressed that Africa offers good conditions for imports of Iranian petrochemical products and efforts are being made to boost export figures to the African region.

Bosaghzadeh said that good talks were made about petrochemical exports to Europe in Germany’s Düsseldorf during K Trade Fair from 19 to 26 October.

Iran’s petrochemical exports are being deployed to the western and eastern Europe

“Currently, Iran’s petrochemical exports are being deployed to the western and eastern European states like Germany, Britain and Hungary,” he underscored.

The official said that Iran’s petrochemical output hit 28.7 million tons during the first four months of the current Iranian year adding “over 21 petrochemical complexes have had surplus output in the time frame spanning from March 20 to October 21.”

“Conditions of Iran’s petrochemical industry became more favorable as a result of several measures take in the first half of the current Iranian year including overhaul in both upstream and downstream, feedstock supply as well as diverse production,” the NPC official continued.

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Peyman Yousefi Azar, the director of Medicinal Herbs Department of Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, told the domestic media that saffron comprised almost two thirds of the exports.

The Damask rose comprised a third of the exports, Yousefi Azar said adding that other herbs comprised the rest of the exports.

He emphasized that there is already a market worth around $150 billion for medicinal herbs in Europe, IRNA reported. The official added that different kinds of herbal tea comprise half of the market of medicinal herbs.

Yousefi Azar further emphasized that Iran still needs to devise serious plans to promote its herbs industry in what could eventually become an important non-oil source of revenues.

The key consumer markets of Iran’s medicinal herbs in order of import volumes are Pakistan, the UAE, Germany, Japan and China.

Iran is generally considered as one of the most geographically diverse countries and has 12 separate geographic environments that can host above 7,500 species of plants of which 1,800 are used in medicine.

Saffron is the crown jewel of Iran’s botanical products. The country produces around 210 tons of saffron each year of which some 70 percent is exported.

Iranian officials had earlier said the country’s exports of botanical products had declined over the past few years as a result of sanctions and stood at around $100 million per year. The surge of exports to around $300 million as Yousefi Azar acknowledged may be a direct result of the removal of the sanctions in January.

More about Iran Saffron

The Guardian: Iran anticipates saffron sales will soar after lifting of sanctions

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