Iranian VP predicts Iran’s non-oil trade balance would reach zero next year

TEHRAN, Jan.1 (MNA) - Iran’s overall non-oil trade balance is anticipated to reach zero in the next Iranian calendar year which ends on March 20, 2013, First Vice-President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi announced on Saturday. Iran’s non-oil trade balance has been negative for years. For the first time, the value of Iran’s non-oil exports is expected to reach the value of imports by the next (calendar) year, Rahimi said. Iran’s non-oil exports, including gas condensates, stood at $31.9 billion in the first nine months of the current calendar year, showing 38 percent rise year on year, the Iranian Customs Administration director said last week. The Iranian non-oil exports amounted to 56.164 million tons in weight, up 10 percent compared to the same period the year before, Abbas Memarnejad told . China, the UAE, and Iraq were the main destinations for the Iranian goods, with $4.2 billion, $3.43 billion and $3.41 billion worth of imports, respectively. The country also imported some 26.5 million tons of goods, valued at around $44.7 billion in the nine-month period, indicating 22 percent and 5.7 percent fall in terms of weight and value, respectively. The UAE, China and South Korea, in order, were the main exporters to Iran, with $14.6 billion, $5.3 billion and $3.6 billion worth of exports. Previously, Trade Promotion Organization chief Hamid Safdel had said the value of non-oil exports is expected to hit $43 billion in the current year and $50.5 billion in the year after.