Iran’s exports of non-oil goods and commodities rose significantly in the calendar month to late October amid a major surge in shipments delivered to neighboring Iraq.
Figures released on Saturday by Iran’s House of Industry, Mine and Trade (HIMT) showed that the country’s exports had reached $6.771 billion in the month to October 21, up 62.6% compared to the same month in 2023.
The figures showed that Iran’s export shipments had increased by 58.6% in volume terms in October to reach 18.359 million metric tons (mt).
The major rise in exports in the calendar month to late October can be attributed to a surge in shipments delivered to neighboring Iraq as the Arab country bought some $2.78 billion worth of Iranian goods and commodities over the period with, according to HIMT data.
China came second in the list of Iran’s main export markets in October with some $1.434 billion worth of purchases, followed by Turkey at $925 million, the United Arab Emirates at $783 million and Afghanistan at $249 million, the data showed.
The figures showed that imports into Iran had also increased in the calendar month to late October as shipments reached 3.45 million mt worth $6.927 billion, up by 21.4% and 2.2% in value and volume terms, respectively.
They showed that the UAE, the main re-export hub in the Persian Gulf, was the largest supplier of non-oil goods and commodities to Iran in October with some $2.18 billion worth of exports, followed by China at $1.755 billion and Turkey at 1.442 billion.