Exporting to Iran

Iran Export Guide | Trade Finance Global

Exporting to Iran

Iran is a member of OPEC and GECF, with the majority of Iran’s exports are natural gas and oil. Petroleum makes up around 80% of exports. There is a complex pipeline system that works to supply their oil and natural gas to Armenia and Turkey as well as other close countries and stretches as far as Russia. The exports of Iran are around $50B, with imports of above $47B, so there is a small positive trade balance.

Iran Country Profile

Official Name (Local Language) Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
Capital Tehran
Population 82,801,633
Currency Iranian Rial
GDP $412.3 billion
Languages Persian
Telephone Dial In 98

Iran Imports Profile

Imports ($m USD)

68,319

Number of Import Products

3,805

Number of Import Partners

123

Top 5 import partners

Country

Trade

% Partner Share

United Arab Emirates

18,188

26.62

Unspecified

10,066

14.73

China

7,045

10.31

Korea, Rep.

4,494

6.58

Germany

3,927

5.75

Top 5 Import Products at HS 6 digit level

Export product

Number

Ingots, iron or non-alloy steel, of a purity of

Maize seed

Flat rlld prod, i/nas, in coil, hr,=>600mm w, l

Semi-milled or wholly milled rice

Oil-cake and other solid residues, of soya-bean

Chart Showing GDP Growth Compared to rest of world

GDP Composition for Iran

Agriculture

%

Product list

9.1%

Wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugarcane, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar

Industry

%

Industry list

39.9%

Petroleum, petrochemicals, gas, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil

Services

%

Services list

51%

Exporting to Iran: What is trade finance?

Iran is a member of OPEC and GECF and ranks as the 57th largest export economy in the world and stands at the 92nd most complex economy according to the Economic Complexity Index (ECI). The main yearly imports are cocoa beans (around $3B), rice (around $2.4B), cocoa beans (around $3B), rice (over $2.3B), soybean meal ($1.5B), gold (over $1.5B) and wheat ($1.2B).

Imports in Iran averaged around 19000 USD Million from 1974 until 2014, hitting of a high of over 77700 USD Million in June of 2011 and a low of around 3000 USD Million at the start of 2013. The main import countries are India (around $5B), South Korea (around $4B), Turkey ($4B), China (around $13B) and Ghana ($3B).

The top imports are non-electrical machinery (almost 20%), steel and iron (around 15%), chemicals (around 10%), transport vehicles (around 8%) and machinery (around 7%). The main countries of import are China (around 20%) and UAE (around 30%). They also trade heavily with Germany, Turkey and South Korea.

Information

Exporting to Iran? Contact our local experts

Iran Economic Statistics

Government Website

https://www.president.ir/en/

Sovereign Ratings

https://countryeconomy.com/ratings/iran

Central Bank

The Central Bank of Iran

Currency USD Exchange Rate

30,462.1

Unemployment Rate

10.7%

Population below poverty line

18.7%

Inflation Rate

8%

Prime Lending Rate

NA

GDP

$412.3 billion

GDP Pro Capita (PPP)

$18,100

Currency Name

Iranian Rial

Currency Code

IRR

World Bank Classification

Upper Middle Income

Competitive Industrial Performance

76/138

Corruption Perceptions Index

130/180

Ease of Doing Business

128/190

Enabling Trade Index

132/136

Currency in Iran

About the Author

Brian Canup is the Editorial & Research Assistant at Trade Finance Global (TFG).

Brian holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an MA in International Political Economy from King’s College London.

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