Chamber of Commerce Member: Iran's Non-Oil Trade Deficit Unprecedented Since 2011

A member of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce's board of representatives stated that the country's non-oil trade deficit reached such a peak last year that the government included oil export statistics in foreign trade reports to conceal it. On Wednesday, June 10, Hossein Salehvand stated that last year, the non-oil trade deficit was $16 billion, a level of imbalance not seen since 2011. The trade balance refers to the difference between a country's exports and imports; according to customs statistics, Iran's non-oil imports last year exceeded non-oil exports by $16.8 billion. This figure was negative $2.3 billion in 2019, negative $3.9 billion in 2020, and negative $6.5 billion in 2021. Salehvand emphasized that in 2022, the government accounted for oil exports in measuring the country's trade balance through 'statistical manipulation and gaming.' He further attributed the chaos in the country's export market to U.S. sanctions, banking transaction issues, Iran's placement on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) blacklist, currency policies, the requirement for exporters to deliver currency at the official rate, sudden government decisions, and instability in trade laws, stating that many traders no longer consider exporting profitable. The significant decline in Iran's gas exports to Turkey continues. China is Iran's largest trading partner, and details from Iran's customs statistics show that from 2021 to last year, the weight of Iran's exports to China grew by 56% to 46.7 million tons, yet the value of these exports dropped by even $40 million, falling below $14 billion. Iranian officials have not explained why, despite the substantial increase in the volume of non-oil exports to China, its value has decreased. Salehvand, who previously served as the head of the Chamber of Commerce, also referred to the trade situation with Iraq, Iran's largest export market, stating that while Iraqis sought to strengthen their national currency, the U.S. tightened sanctions, causing the dollar to have a dual rate in Iraq. He noted that this led to the exchange rate in Iraqi exchange offices and the free market being 15 to 20% higher than the official rate, resulting in Iraqi buyers incurring 20% more costs in transactions with Iranian traders, diminishing the competitiveness of Iranian goods in the Iraqi market. The U.S. has imposed restrictions on some Iraqi banks due to the Islamic Republic's use of the Iraqi banking system for dollar smuggling.