The number of registered orders for importing goods to Iran has fallen
by around 20 percent, sounding a warning of a commodity shortage in the
country, an official of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce said, Trend
reports.
Majid Reza Hariri told the Pana News Agency that the fall in the
number of orders was due to cumbersome procedures at customs and
the unfair method of allocating foreign currency to importers.
Iran exported around $43.7 billion worth of non-oil goods in the past
calendar year and imported some $61.8 billion worth of goods, to hit
the unprecedented mark of $105 billion in annual trade, the Customs
Administration head said.
Abbas Memarnejad said non-oil exports rose by 28 percent compared to
the year before, while imports declined by 4 percent, the Fars News
Agency reported.
Iran has scaled up its trade with 160 countries this year, despite
being embattled by global economic sanctions, Memarnejad said in
April.
He added that the non-oil trade balance fell to $17.9 billion
