Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 14 / Trend F.Mehdi/
Iran is projected to export as much as $59.5 billion in non-oil goods in the next Iranian calendar year which starts on March 21, 2013, the Mehr News Agency quoted the Trade Promotion Organisation of Iran director Hamid Safdel as saying.
Exports of mineral, agricultural, industrial, and petrochemical products are projected to hit $41 billion, he said, adding that $5.5 billion is seen to be earned from technical and engineering exports.
"Exports of other goods including gas condensates are predicted to reach $13 billion," he noted.
Iran's non-oil imports fell by over $4.7 billion during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year which began on March 20, 2012, compared to the corresponding figure for the same period in the previous year, according to the Iranian Customs Administration data.
Although non-oil exports rose by $462 million, the figure has sharply dropped due to the international sanctions by the U.S. and Europe against the Islamic Republic.
Sanctions have diminished Iranian oil exports to around 800,000 barrels per day from about 2.5mbpd at the beginning of the year.
Iran conducted $71.2 billion in trade of non-oil goods with other countries during the nine month period, the Fars News Agency quoted Iranian Customs Administration director Abbas Memarnejad as saying on December 28, 2012.
Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan and India were the top importers of Iranian goods during the period, while the United Arab Emirates, China, Turkey, South Korea, and Switzerland were the leading exporters of goods to Iran, Memarnejad said.
He added that Iran is currently conducting trade with 151 countries. He referred to liquefied propane, urea, methanol, and cement as the major exported goods and iron and steel ingots, wheat, and soy meal as the main imported ones.
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
U.S. sanctions entered into force on June 28, while the EU bans on Iranian oil imports came into force on July 1.
In October, the EU approved another major package of economic sanctions on Iran.