Azerbaijan, Baku, Aug.8/ Trend F.Milad/
The Iranian trade balance with 92 countries was positive in the first half of 2012, the Iranian Customs Administration reported.
Iran registered the highest positive trade balance with Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, according to the Mehr News Agency.
Iran imported some $17.2 billion worth of goods and exported around $12 billion during the first four months of the current calendar year, which began on March 20, the Customs Administration head announced on July 31.
Abbas Memarnejad said that imports showed 12.5 percent rise in weight but 7 percent fall in value compared to the figures correspondent to the same period last year, the Fars News Agency reported.
Exports, though, fell by 7.5 percent in weight and 16 percent in value compared to the past year, he noted.
Iran conducted economic transactions with 150 countries in the last calendar year, the finance and economic affairs minister said on Sunday.
Shamseddin Hosseini said of this number, 80 countries transited their products through Iran, according to the IRNA News Agency.
Iran continues trading with the world at a time when certain countries are trying to put hurdles in front of its economic progress, the minister said.
Iran's annual trade turnover is projected to reach $160 billion by the end of the fifth five-year development plan (March 2016), an official with the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran (TPOI) said in May.
Kiyumars Fathollah Kermanshahi added that the value of annual imports and exports are planned to reach $77 billion and $83 billion respectively by 2016.