According to IRICA statistics, Iran’s exports to EAEU member states reached $1.46 billion in the eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (from April to November), an 11% increase compared to the same period last year. Exports rose by 10% over the same period to 3.888 million tonnes (mt), Press TV reported.
According to the data, exports to Russia increased by 12% in value and 9% in volume, with exports to Belarus surging by more than half a year from April to November compared to the same period last year.
IRICA statistics also showed that Iran’s imports from the EAEU, which includes Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia and Belarus, amounted to 5.5 million tons and $3.217 billion in the first eight months of the current Persian year. This represents a 9% decrease in volume but a 15% increase in value compared to the same period last year.
The value of imports from Russia increased by 13% from April to November compared to the same period last year, and the value of shipments from Kazakhstan soared by 84% over the same period.
Under the free trade agreement that came into force in May, Iran currently enjoys nearly 87% of its exports to EAEU member states duty-free. Prior to this agreement, the two countries operated under a preferential trade agreement signed in Armenia in June 2017.
This comes after Iran also signed an agreement to become an observer member of the bloc at the EAEU Supreme Council meeting in St. Petersburg last December.
MNA