Iran-EU Trade Tops €8 Billion in H1 2018

EghtesadOnline: Trade between Iran and the 28 member states of the European Union during the first half of 2018 amounted to more than €8.3 billion, registering a 12.8% decrease compared with last year’s corresponding period.

News ID: ۷۴۵۸۱۱

07 August 2018

Iran’s top three trade partners over the period were Italy, France and Spain with €2.17 billion, €1.23 billion and €1.21 billion worth of exchanges respectively.

Trade with Croatia (€61.73 million), Latvia (€61.88 million), Spain (€1.21 billion), Poland (€14.83 million) and Greece (€782.15 million) saw the highest increase of 1,907%, 204%, 54%, 24% and 20% respectively.

Iran’s sharpest trade decline was with Cyprus (69%), Bulgaria (65%), Portugal (61%), the Netherlands (51%) and Malta (45%), according to Financial Tribune.

Iran exported more than €4.68 billion worth of commodities to EU member states during the first six months of 2018, indicating a 2.2% fall compared with the similar period of the preceding year, according to Eurostat data shared with Financial Tribune.

The country’s main export destinations over the period were Italy with over €1.5 billion, Spain with €978.25 million, France with €829.16 million, Greece with €771.33 million and Germany with €138.02 million worth of imports.

Iran’s exports to Croatia, Luxembourg and Slovenia experienced the highest year-on-year growth of 19,760%, 628% and 506% respectively.

This is while exports to the Netherlands, Bulgaria and Cyprus saw the sharpest decline of close to 94%, 63% and 44% respectively compared with last year’s corresponding period.

The top 10 exported commodities included mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation, bituminous substances and mineral waxes (€4.07 billion), iron and steel (€144.28 million), edible fruit and nuts, zest of citrus fruit or melons (€132.27 million), plastics and articles thereof (€109.92 million), coffee, tea and spices (€21.69 million), organic chemicals (€20.6 million), fertilizers (€15.7 million), carpets and other floor coverings (€14.9 million), products of animal origin (€14.82 million) and pharmaceutical products (€14.02 million).

Iran’s imports from EU member states over the same period decreased by 23.7% YOY to stand at more than €3.61 billion.

The top five exporters from the European bloc to Iran were Germany with €1.02 billion, Italy with €670.2 million, France with €401.24 million, the Netherlands with €280.4 million and Spain with €235.47 million worth of exports.

Iran’s imports from Latvia, Spain and Ireland saw the highest YOY increase of 227%, 26% and 5% respectively, whereas those from Cyprus, Malta and Bulgaria experienced the sharpest YOY decline of 71%, 68% and 67% respectively.

Imported products mainly included nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts (€1.2 billion), vehicles other than rail or tramway rolling stock and parts and accessories thereof (€323.81 million), electrical machinery and equipment, sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers and parts (€319.76 million), optical, photographic, cinematographic, measuring, checking, precision, medical or surgical instruments and apparatus (€257.95 million), pharmaceutical products (€242.58 million), articles of iron or steel (€145.14 million), chemical products (€107.27 million), plastics and plastic articles (€92.84 million), essential oils and resinoids, perfumes, cosmetic or toilet preparations (€71.46 million) and organic chemicals (€59.62 million).