The deputy minister of economy highlighted that Iran's non-oil foreign trade for the year ending March 20, 2025, amounted to $130.219 billion, reflecting an 11.39 percent increase compared to the previous year. Askari noted that the volume of non-oil foreign trade during this period was 191.229 million tons, marking a 7.63 percent rise from the same timeframe last year.
In his remarks, Askari also addressed the export of petrochemicals, revealing that Iran exported over $6 billion worth of petrochemicals, alongside more than $3 billion in natural gas and liquefied propane during the same period. The primary export markets for Iran included China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and India.
Askari detailed that of the total non-oil trade, more than $57.4 billion was attributed to non-oil exports (excluding oil, electricity, engineering services, and trade goods in baggage), while imports exceeded $72.3 billion. These figures represent increases of 15.62 percent and 8.22 percent, respectively, compared to the previous year.
In terms of volume, nearly 152 million tons of goods were exported, while imports totaled more than 39.2 million tons. Non-oil exports saw a 10 percent increase in weight during the reported period, whereas imports experienced a slight decline of one percent, according to the head of IRICA.
Regarding petrochemical exports, Askari stated that over 61.6 million tons of petrochemical products, valued at nearly $25 billion, were exported last year, indicating a 27 percent increase in weight and a 28 percent rise in value.
The Director General of Iran’s Customs identified the three major export items for the year as natural gas, valued at more than $6.8 billion; liquefied propane, exceeding $3.6 billion; and liquefied butane, surpassing $2.2 billion.
On the import side, Askari noted that the leading items included raw gold, valued at $8.051 billion; corn, approximately $3 billion; and smartphones, exceeding $2.4 billion. Additional significant imports included soybean meal (over $1.9 billion), soybeans (more than $1.3 billion), various types of tractors (over $1.2 billion), rice (more than $1.2 billion), and automobile production parts (over $1.5 billion).