This was announced by a new report of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Trade, which draws on the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade's statistics.
Import of consumer goods saw a year-on-year decline of 25.3% in terms of weight and 26.7% in terms of value during the period under review, standing at 424,700 tons worth $1.8 billion worth of consumer goods.
The import value of consumer goods accounted for 17.1% of total value of imports in Q1. This share was at 21.6% in last year's spring, according to Financial Tribune.
A consumer good or final good is any commodity produced or consumed by the consumer to satisfy current wants or needs.
Meanwhile, 166,500 tons of capital goods worth $1.76 billion were imported during the same period, registering a 0.2% and 13.7% decline in weight and value respectively YOY.
The import value of capital goods accounted for 16.7% of total value of imports in Q1. This share was at 15.5% in last year's spring.
Capital goods are tangible assets that a business uses to produce goods or services used as inputs for other businesses to produce consumer goods. In other words, capital goods are tangible assets, such as buildings, machinery, equipment, vehicles and tools that one organization uses to produce goods or services as an input to produce consumer goods and goods for other businesses.
As for intermediate goods, 6.47 million tons worth $7 billion were imported, which shows a 10.8% and 2.1% decline respectively YOY.
TCCIM has warned about the decline in imports of intermediate goods, stressing that if the current trend continues into next quarters, manufacturing units are likely to suffer serious setbacks or even a recession.
The import value of intermediate goods accounted for 66.2% of total value of imports in Q1. This share was at 62.8% in last year's spring.
An intermediate good is a product used to produce a final or finished product. These goods are sold by industries for resale or the production of other goods.
> On the Export Front
A total of 25,400 tons of capital goods worth $242.7 million were exported during the period under review, up 19.2% and 206.1% in weight and value respectively YOY.
The export value of capital goods accounted for 2.1% of total value of exports in Q1. This share was at 0.8% in last year's spring.
The export of consumer goods stood at 1.94 million tons worth $1.92 billion, up 38.9% and 17.1% in weight and value respectively YOY.
The export value of consumer goods accounted for 16.6% of the total value of exports in Q1. This share was at 16.4% in last year's spring.
As for intermediate goods, 25.9 million tons worth $9.4 billion were exported, registering a 2.9% decline in weight but a 13.9% rise in value YOY.
The export value of intermediate goods accounted for 81.3% of total export value in Q1. This share was at 82.8% in last year's spring.
> IRICA Report on Q1 Non-Oil Foreign Trade
As per the report of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Customs Administration, Iran’s non-oil foreign trade during the first three months of the current fiscal year stood at $22.87 billion, indicating a 5.8% rise compared with last year’s corresponding period.
Exports hit 27.88 million tons worth $11.61 billion, indicating a 15.58% increase in value year-on-year, while imports amounted to 8.37 million tons worth $11.25 billion, down 2.76% YOY.
IRICA categorizes non-oil exports into three groups of petrochemicals, gas condensates and “others”.
A total of 6.5 million tons of petrochemicals worth $3.5 billion were exported in the first quarter to register a rise of less than 1% in value compared with the same quarter last year. Petrochemical products accounted for more than 30% of Iran’s overall non-oil exports.
Exports of gas condensates stood at $1.55 billion or 13% of total exports, posting more than a 2.5% decline YOY. Other main exports categorized in this group included liquefied propane ($534 million accounting for more than 4.5% of total exports), light oils, except gasoline ($409 million or more than 3.5%), polyethylene ($306 million or 3%) and liquefied petroleum gases ($304 million).
The export of products classified within the so-called “others” group fell in the neighborhood of 18.38 million tons worth $6.55 billion, accounting for more than 56% of total non-oil exports.
China, the UAE, Iraq, Afghanistan and South Korea were the main customers of Iranian products in Q1.
Imports mainly included auto parts ($541 million accounting for about 5% of total imports), field corn ($436 million or about 4%), rice ($375 million or more than 3%), soybeans ($373 million or more than 3%) and mobile phones ($192 million or close to 2%).
Major exporters to Iran in the first quarter included China, the UAE, South Korea, Germany and Turkey.
The average price of each ton of exported commodities hovered around $417, up 17% compared to last year’s corresponding period, while that of imported goods stood at $1,344, up 0.5% YOY.