Iran's non-oil exports exceeds $ 31 billion
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The value of the country's non-oil exports in January-August 2018 exceeded $ 31 billion, declared the Iranian trade representative.
Speaking at IRIB, the head of the Iranian Trade Promotion Organization, Mohammad Reza Modoudi, said that the total value of non-oil exports exceeded $ 31.5 billion in January-August, showing an increase of 13 percent compared to the same period last year.
"During this period, we imported goods worth $ 29 billion," he said. Consequently, the trade balance, means the difference between the monetary value of exports and imports is $2 billion.
The sales representative added that Iran’s largest exports are petrochemicals, gas condensate and other industrial, consumer and agricultural products.
In recent years, Iran has stepped up efforts to increase non-oil exports and reduce dependence on its oil revenues. The growth of the country's exports occurs despite U.S. sanctions.
On May 8, Trump announced that the United States abandoned the nuclear deal with Iran. Trump criticized the nuclear agreement signed during the presidency of Barack Obama by saying that it was weak and met Iran’s interests. The U.S. President condemned Iran over uranium enrichment and banned arms production in violation of the terms of the agreement. In addition, Trump said he intends to restore sanctions against Iran.
On November 2, Washington announced that it would grant eight countries permission to buy Iranian oil when imposing sanctions on Tehran from November 5 to 180 days without the possibility of extending this period.
On November 4, 2018, the U.S. re-imposed all remaining secondary sanctions on Iran that were previously lifted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This is the final action required to re-impose Iranian sanctions since President Trump's May 8, 2018 announcement of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. The U.S. initially imposed certain sanctions on August 7, 2018.
These sanctions imposed on Iran's port operators and shipping and shipbuilding sectors, on petroleum-related transactions with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO), and the Central Bank of Iran, on transactions by foreign financial institutions (FFIs) with the Central Bank of Iran, on the provision of specialized financial messaging services to the CBI and Iranian financial institutions, on the provision of underwriting services, insurance, or reinsurance and on Iran's energy sector.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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