Azernews.Az

Iran's non-oil imports fell by over $4.7 billion (to $40.047 billion) during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 20, 2012, compared to the corresponding figure for the same period in the previous year, according to the Iranian Customs Administration data, Trend news agency reported.

However, according to the OPEC annual report, Iran's total export during 2011 was $135.7 billion, including about $115 billion petroleum export, while the country's import was about $58 billion.

According to Iranian Customs Administration data, Iran's non-oil exports rose by $462 million.

The western sanctions have diminished Iranian oil exports to below one million barrels per day from about 2.2 mbpd in the beginning of the year.

Iran conducted $71.2 billion in trade of non-oil goods with other countries during the nine-month period, Fars news agency quoted Iranian Customs Administration Director Abbas Memarnejad as saying on Dec.28.

Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, and India were the top importers of Iranian goods during the period, while the United Arab Emirates, China, Turkey, South Korea, and Switzerland were the leading exporters of goods to Iran, Memarnejad said.

He added that Iran is currently conducting trade with 151 countries. He referred to liquefied propane, urea, methanol, and cement as the major exported goods and iron and steel ingots, wheat, and soy meal as the main imported ones.

At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

U.S. sanctions entered into force on June 28, while the EU bans on Iranian oil imports came into force on July 1.

In October, the EU approved another major package of economic sanctions on Iran.