Iraq is Iran's top importer of non-oil goods in terms of value in the four month period ending July 22, Iran's newly appointed (but not yet endorsed) trade minister said.
The Mehr News Agency quoted Mehdi Ghazanfari saying that Iraq constitutes 16 percent of Iran's non-oil exports, adding that the value of the goods reached $880 million.
Ghazanfari said that Tehran's commercial rivals in Iraq include Turkey, Jordan and China and expressed hope that two-way trade will expand and that in the near future Iran will become Iraq's number one exporter.
The director of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) pointed out that TPOI has undertaken extensive measures to develop economic and trade relations with Iraq including opening various offices, sending delegations, holding exhibitions and taking part in other exhibitions related to Iraq.
The would-be minister cited China as the second export destination of non-oil commodities from Iran and said in the four month period $851 million were exported there.
Before this UAE was the first trade partner of Iran, but now it is third with $713 million.
"India, Afghanistan, South Korea, Holland, Pakistan, Turkey and Indonesia make up other large importers of non-oil products from Iran," he said.
The main products exported from Iran include cement, ice-cream, home evaporative coolers, cucumbers, light oils, tomato paste, bricks, apples, tomatoes, watermelons, confectionary, sweets, industrial oil, motor oil, etc.