BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 25
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
Iran's foreign trade turnover amounted to more than 53 million tons of goods worth $24.6 billion during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-August 21, 2020), director-general of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Mehdi Mirashrafi told IRIB, Trend reports.
According to Mirashrafi, Iran exported about 38 million tons of goods worth $10.9 billion during this period.
He added that Iranian imports during five months of the current calendar year were 13.8 million tons of goods worth $13.7 billion.
"The largest decline in Iranian exports was recorded in the second month of the current Iranian year (April 19 - May 20, 2020). Iran's exports fell by 54 percent in the second month compared to the same period in 2019, due to the spread of the coronavirus and US sanctions,” he said.
The director-general emphasized that Iran's exports fell by 27 percent in terms of value over 5 months compared to the same period last year.
Mirashrafi noted that Iran's main export during the period was gasoline. Due to a decline in domestic consumption and an increase in production, Iran exported more than $1 billion worth of gasoline.
Mirasgrafi also added that China, Iraq, the UAE, Afghanistan, and Turkey were in the top five export partners of Iran.
The director-general stressed that China, the UAE, Turkey, India, and Germany were in the top five in terms of Iranian imports.
“More than 4.1 million tons of raw materials and production equipment worth $10.2 billion were imported within 5 months,” he said.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, borders with many countries have been closed, therefore, Iran's trade turnover with other countries reduced to a minimum. Iran has begun to increase trade with other countries with the gradual opening of border checkpoints since the end of June.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 361,100 people have been infected, and 20,776 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 311,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.
The US imposed new sanctions on Iran in November 2018. As a result, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports as well as more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals.