Iran’s Non-Oil Exports Jump by 21% in 4 Months
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s non-oil exports have witnessed a 21 percent increase during the first four months of the current Iranian year (started on March 20), Head of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO) Valiollah Afkhami Rad announced.
Over the first four months of the current Iranian year, the country’s exports increased by 21% and imports were down by 7% compared to the same period last year, the Public Relations Department of the TPO quoted Afkhami Rad as saying on Tuesday.
The value of non-oil exports, including gas condensate, in the four-month period reached $16.308 billion and the imports stood at $12.865 billion, which improved Iran’s trade balance by 990 percent, he noted.
Afkhami Rad further expressed the hope that with the growing trend, the country’s annual non-oil exports would reach $50 billion by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2016 – March 20, 2017).
Iran has stepped up efforts in recent years to enhance its non-oil exports and reduce dependency on its oil revenues.
In 2014, the country’s exports of commodities and natural-gas condensate reached $50 billion, showing a 19 percent increase.
There was also a boom in Iran’s service exports in diverse sectors, including tourism, engineering, and transit.
