BERLIN: At least 8 members of the EU held their positions among the top 20 exporters of goods to Iran in the current fiscal year, started March 2017. Germany was the top exporter to Iran among the EU countries during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Nov. 22) with $1.792 billion worth of goods. The European country stood fifth after China, UAE, Turkey and South Korea. Germany’s exports to Iran registered a rise by 20 percent year-on-year, according to the latest statistics released by the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran. Germany shared 5.5 percent of Iran’s overall imports in terms of value in the 8-month period. However the volume of the country’s exports to Iran amounted to 529,000 tons, 29 percent less year-on-year, which indicates that the European country has exported more valuable goods to Iran during the current fiscal year. Besides Germany, Switzerland ($1.121 million, a 10percent increase), France ($970 million, a 45 percent increase), Italy ($863 million, a 28 percent increase), the Netherlands ($723 million, a 16 percent increase), the UK($585 million, 61 percent increase), Belgium($377 million, 82 percent increase) and Sweden($327 million, 80 percent increase) were the European countries that took place among the top exporters of goods to Iran in the mentioned period. The EU’s trade with Iran was subject to restrictions derived from United Nations Security Council (UNSC) sanctions between 2006 and 2010. EU exports to Iran plummeted to 7.3 billion euros in 2012, down from highs of 11.3 billion euros in 2006. Under the sanctions, the Islamic Republic shifted its trade eastward, and expanded economic ties with countries such as China and India as well as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, which took the advantage of the sanctions, and acted as re-exporting intermediary to Iran. During the first eight months of current fiscal year, Iran purchased 61.3 percent of its imported goods from five countries China, the UAE, South Korea, Turkey and Germany.
Iran also imported $5.749 billion worth of goods from the UAE (a 23 percent increase), which makes 17.7 percent of Iran’s total imports value.
