\n Customs data show Iran\u2019s total non-oil trade reached $43.94 billion in five months to August 22.
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Iran has posted a trade deficit of $2.105 billion for the five calendar months to late August amid a visible decline in both export\u00a0and import shipments.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Figures released by the Iranian customs administration (IRICA) on Tuesday showed that the country\u2019s non-oil trade had reached $43.94 billion in the five months to August 22.<\/p>\n IRICA figures showed that exports from Iran had reached a total of 61.333 million metric tons (mt) worth $20.917 billion in the April-August period, up 0.07% in volume terms but down 6% in value terms compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n Petrochemicals accounted for $8.638 billion worth of Iranian exports in the five months to late August, down 13% year on year, the figures showed.<\/p>\n China, Iraq, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were the main destinations of the Iranian export shipments in the April-August period, IRICA\u00a0chief Foroud Asgari said, adding that China had bought more than a\u00a0fourth of the Iranian export shipments with\u00a0$5.488 billion worth of purchases.<\/p>\n IRICA figures showed that imports into Iran had dropped by 5.4% and 16.3% in volume and value terms year on year in the five months to late August to reach 15.206 million mt worth $23.022 billion.<\/p>\n Gold topped the list of Iran\u2019s main import items, followed by animal feed and other basic commodities, the figures showed.<\/p>\n Asgari said, however, that gold imports into Iran had fallen by 54% year on year in the five months to late August to reach 14 mt.<\/p>\n He said the UAE, which is the main re-exporting hub in the Persian Gulf, was the largest exporter to Iran in the April-August period, followed by China and Turkey.<\/p>\n Press TV\u2019s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:<\/p>\n