European Union exports to Iran declined 19% in the first six months of current Iranian fiscal year, starting March 21 and its non-oil imports from the Islamic Republic also decreased by 2%.
According to the new monthly report, released by Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization, the country imported $4.437 billion from EU and exported $636 million of goods to the Union.
During the March 21-September 21 period, EU also halved oil intake from Iran, according to the International Energy Agency, while Reuters reported October 16 that during the first half of this month, Iran has not loaded any oil to EU, except that Italy may take about 1 million barrels (about 33,000 b/d).
Before the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May, Iran was exporting 450,000 b/d to EU members. The U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil will come into force on Nov.4.
As both oil and non-oil EU imports declined from Iran, Russia continued 100,000 b/d Iranian oil intake and its exports to Iran have doubled to $633 million during this period. However, this is not a significant figure compared with Iran-China and Iran-EU trade.
Recently, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak announced that regardless of U.S. sanctions, the country plans to continue its oil intake from Iran. Iran also has an oil-to-goods barter with Russia, which started in November 2017.
Iran’s foreign trade turnover
The statistics of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization show that the country’s total non-oil exports increased by 13% to $23.123 billion, while its imports decreased by 12% to $22.182 billion in 1 half of the fiscal year.
Iran includes some raw oil products like gas condensate (ultra-light crude oil), propane, butane, etc. in the non-oil exports basket.
The country’s gas condensate exports declined 46% to 4.644 million metric tons (about 215,000 b/d) with $2.418 billion worth due to rising domestic demand after launching two units of Persian Gulf Star refinery. The nominal refining capacity of these units is 240,000 b/d of gas condensate together and the third unit is expected to add an additional 120,000 b/d to this capacity in coming months.
| Markets | March 21-September 22 (Million US $) | Y/Y change |
|---|---|---|
| China | 4663 | 12% |
| Iraq | 4564 | 45% |
| UAE | 4063 | 33% |
| Afghanistan | 1668 | 31% |
| India | 1255 | -4% |
| South Korea | 844 | -61% |
| Turkey | 736 | -21% |
| Pakistan | 572 | 66% |
| Thailand | 457 | 55% |
| Oman | 444 | 52% |
Despite non-oil exports growth, Iran’s oil sales to foreign partners declined significantly since US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May.
