Iran's exports to Russia and countries of the Central Asia and Caucasus regions have soared by 18% over the past Persian calendar year that ended on March 20, a senior official with the country's Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) says.
Rahmatollah Khormali, a regional director of Russia, Central Asia and the Caucasus at TPO, said the exports to the aforementioned countries hit $3.2 billion in the past Iranian calendar year of 1401 (March 21, 2022-March 20, 2023), marking a rise of 18% compared to the previous year.
According to the report, Russia was the biggest buyer of Iranian goods last year, importing $745 million worth of goods from Iran. The figure represents an increase of 30% from a year earlier.
Khormali noted that Azerbaijan was the second-largest importer of goods from Iran, followed by Armenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The Iranian official also reported a growing trend in Iranian exports to Russia and countries of the Central Asia and Caucasus regions in the current year.
He said Iran’s exports to those countries hit $215 million in the first month of 1402 (March 21- April 20, 2023), which marks a 50% rise compared to the same period in the last year. Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were also the top destinations for goods from Iran in that period.
Russia has sought to deepen its economic and trade ties with Iran since February 2022 when it came under an inclusive regime of Western sanctions because of the war in Ukraine.
Iran and Russia have signed major deals in recent months to expand their cooperation in areas of energy and manufacturing as the two countries aim to unite in their efforts to offset the impacts of foreign sanctions on their economies.