Iran’s exports to African countries reached $1.2 billion last year

Iran’s exports to African countries exceeded $1.19 billion in the last Iranian year (March 2021-22), registering a 107% rise compared with the year before, a record high, according to a senior Iranian trade official.

Iran’s main products exported to Africa during the period were iron and steel ingots, urea, liquid butane and propane, floorings, iron and steel profiles and construction materials, said Farzad Piltan, the director general of Arab and African Affairs Department of the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran.

Iran’s top 10 export destinations were Ghana with $353 million, South Africa with $254 million, Nigeria with $125 million, Mozambique with $98 million, Kenya with $77 million, Sudan with $73 million, Algeria with $67 million, Tanzania with $55 million, Somalia with $29 million and Ethiopia with $11 million.

Exports to South Africa saw the highest increase of 570%. Last year, close to 553,000 tons of goods were sold to that country worth $254 million. This is while in the year before, only 27,000 tons of goods worth $38 million were exported to the African state.

Piltan noted that a total of $60 million worth of goods were imported from African states during the same period, registering a 37% decline compared with the previous year.

The main exporters to Iran were Tanzania, Ghana, Ethiopia, South Africa and Kenya.

Imports from South Africa, he added, declined by 25% during the period, to reach $6 million.

The main reason for the rise in Iran’s exports to Africa is that Iranian producers and exporters have, in recent years, boosted their market research and marketing to secure footholds in new markets.

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