The value of trade between the two neighbors from March 21 until July 22 has increased by 140 percent compared to the corresponding period last year, the director general of the West Asia export department at the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran said.
According to Farzad Piltan, the value of Iranian exports to Turkey in the four-month period has reached $2 billion, while Iran has imported $1.8 billion worth of commodities from its northwestern neighbor.
The main items exported to Turkey include natural gas, urea, aluminum, zinc, copper cathode, wire and cable, iron ingot, steel, polymers, handicrafts and jewelry, he noted.
He also unveiled plans to minimize the export of raw materials and extend the added‐value chain of a lot of items being exported to Turkey, saying the Iranian administration seeks to promote the export of knowledge-based products and commodities with higher added value.
In comments at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Tehran in July, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi described the current level of trade and economic ties with Turkey as insufficient, saying the volume of bilateral trade can triple to reach $30 billion annually.
He added that Tehran and Ankara stress the need to develop investment and intend to extend the 25-year contract on the export of Iran’s gas to Turkey.