Iran’s media are reporting a shift in the composition of the country’s trade partners, citing a recent rise in trade with Europeans versus a drop in imports from traditional Asian partners.
Official figures show there has recently been a decline of 9 percent in imports from China that has for long been a key Asian trade partner for Iran.
The Customs Administration of Iran has announced in a report that imports from the UAE – another key Asian partner – also saw a major drop of 23 percent over a three-month period starting March 21.
This is while other data show Iran’s exports to the European Union rose by a staggering figure over the past months.
Figures published by the European Union show that imports from Iran rose to €91 million in May 2015. This is higher by at least 40 percent compared to the same period last year when imports from Iran stood at €65 million, reported the Persian-language newspaper Mardomsalari on Sunday.
Overall, Iran-EU trade rose by 7 percent in May year-on-year.
Reports on the rise in Iran-EU trade come on the heels of recent indications that Europeans are already preparing to promote their trade ties with the Islamic Republic in light of the recent breakthrough in Vienna over the Iranian nuclear case.
On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – the five permanent members of the Security Council plus Germany – announced in Vienna at the end of their marathon talks that they had agreed over certain limitations on the Iranian nuclear energy program in return for the removal of economic sanctions against the country.
The sanctions removal – expected to take place before the year’s end – is expected to facilitate international trade with Iran among many other things.
Only days after the Vienna breakthrough, a top-level German diplomatic delegation led by Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel arrived in Tehran to discuss trade with Iranian officials.
Several other European states including Italy and Spain have also announced plans to send trade teams to Tehran.