Turkey replaces India as Iran’s export market

Speaking in a press conference, Lahooti said that according to the released statistics on Iran’s exports in the first four months of the current Iranian calendar year, Iran’s exports have grown by 65 percent in terms of exports and at the same time its imports have also increased by 32 percent comparing to the same period last year.

He said that despite closure of borders and problems for exporting to Iraq and Afghanistan last year, the rise in of exports this year likely is because of reopening of borders, and even the export items of Iran has increased comparing to the same period in two years ago.

Lahooti noted that Iran’s exports basket is comprised of the same goods that were exported in the past and the difference between value and the weight of the exported goods means that Iran exports goods with more added value.

He said Iran’s exports and imports markets are the same, and except India which was among Iran’s top five destinations for its exports and now Turkey has replaced it, no change has happened. He blamed the sanctions for the exit of India from Iran’s top five export destinations.

Lahooti also added that in terms of imports, the UAE replaced China as the top exporting country to Iran but one should consider this point that the UAE is not a producer country and most of the goods have imported into Iran via the UAE due to different reasons like sanctions.

He went on to say that two European countries, Germany and Switzerland, have also been added to the list of Iran’s importing destinations which indicates the improvement of the quality of their goods.

Lahooti also criticized the forex policy of the country, saying that although the devaluation of the national currency could be a good opportunity for exports, Iran experienced a negative growth in this field. He said today the country is fully ready to meet its required forex demands for imports through exports but some policies which were adopted in 2018 because of the sanctions were anti-exports and they made most of exporters weak or forced them out of the business.

He reiterated that if the trust of exporters is restored, the export figures and statistics can increase and the resulted forex can be used for the imports.

Lahooti also said that resumption of Vienna talks had its psycho impacts on the forex market but the talks have come to a halt in order that the new Iranian government sends its team for talks. He stated that the presence of Germany and Switzerland in Iran’s import basket can be a positive signal for the future of the nuclear talks.

Touching upon recent developments in Afghanistan, he said wherever there is insecurity and violence, capital flies, and recent insecurity in Afghanistan has increased the risk of trade and it can lead to a complete halt of Iran’s exports to this country. He added that since Afghanistan is the second or third trade partner of Iran in the region, its security is very important for Iran.

END