Iran-India trade increases by five per cent

India's January and February 2024 shipments to Iran increased by 20 per cent year over year to US$269 million. This was reported by the Tehran Times, a partner of TV BRICS.

India sent items to Iran valued at US$224 million during the same time in 2023. However, compared to the same period in 2023, India's imports from Iran fell by 19 per cent in the aforementioned two months to US$108 million.

India purchased commodities worth US$134 million from the Islamic Republic of the Iran in the first two months of the previous year. Iran's primary imports from India during the first two months of this year were oilseed cake, rice, and fruits.

According to the source, India's primary imports from Iran during the first two months of 2024 were fruits, raw materials used to make colours, and petroleum products.

An official of de Promotion Organization of Iran (TPO) stated that during the last Iranian calendar year, which concluded on March 19, Iran sold items worth US$2.217 billion to India.

Hadi Talebian Moghaddam, the director of TPO department for Indian Subcontinent Affairs, noted that the amount represented a 2 per cent rise from the US$2.175 billion reported in the previous year.

It was noted that Iran's trade balance with India turned positive last year. India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently released a report showing that the country's trade exchange with Iran totaled more than US$200 million in January.

According to the Indian ministry, Iran exported US$699 million worth of goods to India in the past year, which is not a significant change from 2022.

Petroleum products were the main commodity imported by India from Iran in 2023, while India imported US$221 million worth of such goods from Iran this year. India's imports of Iranian petroleum products increased by 26 per cent in 2023 compared to the previous year.

India's exports to Iran declined by 35 per cent to US$1.187 billion in January–December 2023. In the previous year, India exported goods worth US$1.847 billion to Iran.

India's main export commodity to Iran in 2023 was rice.

Photo: iStock