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Iran Economy Update
Issue 25/2017 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 21TH
Iran’s trade volume with Germany and France increased significantly in 2016
The twitter account of France Embassy in Iran wrote (in Farsi and French) that the two countries’ trade volume increased by 235% in 2016. “The JCPOA reaped fruit: A 235% increase in Iran-France trade volume in 2016”, tweeted the embassy.
The statistics released by the Iranian customs administration shows that France become Iran’s 11th biggest sources of imports in the first ten months of 1395 and its exports to the country increased by 26.57% compared with the similar period of the last year. A similar practice is observable in Iran’s trade relations with Germany that is trying to revive its pre-sanctions trade ties with Iran.
Table 1 - Iran’s major import sources in the first ten months of 1395 country
fist 10 months of 1395
first ten months of
1394 y-o-y
change
% 20 March 16 – 19
Jan 17
20 March 2015- 17 Jan 2016
value * share % value * share%
1 China 8.40 24.02 8.51 25.11 -1.27
2 UAE 5.48 15.69 6.19 18.29 -11.47
3 Korea 2.78 7.96 3.05 9.01 -8.74
4 Turkey 2.19 6.27 2.46 7.27 -10.99
5 Germany 1.96 5.61 1.43 4.25 36.39
11 France 0.799 0.37 0.631 0.20 26.57
- other 14.15 40.45 12.22 36.07 15.72
- Total 34.98 100 33.89 100 3.21
Source: Iran’s customs monthly report
Also, Tasnim news agency has published the Euro Stat statistics on Iran and France’s trade volume with Iran in 2016. The report shows that the value of trade volume between Iran and
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Germany in 2016 amounted to €2.887 billion (Table 2), and the value of the country’s trade volume reached €2.07 with France (Table 3).
Table 2 - Iran-Germany trade volume in 2016
2016 2015 y-o-y change
Trade volume €2.887 billion €2.366 billion +22%
Import from Germany €2.6 billion €2.05 billion + 26%
Export to Germany €287 million €316 million - 9%
Source: Tasnim news (Euro Stat)
Table 3 - Iran-France Trade volume in 2016
2016 2015 y-o-y change
Trade volume €2.07 billion €592 million +249%
Import from France €722 million €592 million +28%
Export to France €1.348 billion €30 million +4300%
Source: Tasnim news (from Euro Stat)
Iran-Iraq sign oil sector agreement
Iran’s Ambassador to Iraq Hassan Danaie-Far said that Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh paid a one-day visit to this neighboring country on Monday and after discussing issues on shared oil fields and gas exports with his Iraqi counterpart, signed an agreement on oil sector cooperation.
The ambassador made the remarks in an interview with ISNA, without providing more details but Reza Zandi, a renowned Iranian energy journalist wrote on his twitter account that according to the agreement, Iran would re-export the Iraqi Kirkuk oil through a pipeline that will pass through the Iranian territory.
Zandi wrote that the two sides agreed that technical and economic feasibility of this plan be studied by an international consultant. The two sides also agreed to jointly explore and export the oil produced from two shared oil fields, wrote Zandi, without specifying the name of the fields.
3 An update on Iran’s relations with foreign countries
Headline Details
Iran-France signed agreement on railway sector cooperation
The Islamic Republic Railway and France Railways signed an agreement on joint cooperation in forming six workgroups in the suburban train lines and expressways, trains station services, consulting services, crisis management, and rail transporting equipment. The agreement was signed during the visit of a delegation from France Railways and a number of the coutnry’s parliamentarians to Iran, according to ISNA. The visit of the French delegation was as part of an agreement reached during the visit of this coutnry’s president to Iran in Jan 2016.
Iran - Greece launched joint economic
chamber
The first session of the Iran-Greece joint commerce chamber was held on Monday. The sessions were previously held under the title of the Iran- Greece joint council. Mehdi Jahangiri, the chairman of the joint chamber said that before sanctions, Greece was one of the leading European countries in trade with Iran and this position is going to be revived.
Finnish delegation in Tehran
A delegation led by Petri Peltonen, the Finnish deputy minister of Economic Affairs & Employment is visiting Tehran. The delegation comprises representatives of 200 companies in energy, mineral, technology and health sectors. The Iran-Finland joint Trade forum was held on Monday during which Peltonen said since that last Oct when his country’s president travelled to Iran, four delegations have visited Tehran. He said that according to an agreement signed by the Finnish minister of Economic Affairs & Employment and Iran’s Energy minister, the two sides are to develop cooperation in energy generation, distribution and efficiency and renewable energy. Finnish Ambassador to Tehran Harri Kämäräinen told the forum that his country has solutions for Iran’s air pollution/water shortage. Speaking at the event, Vice ICCIM President Pedram Soltani said that in the past visits the Finnish delegations have paid to Iran, they have put resolving banking issues on their agenda and that the issue will be resolved in the next few months.
Russia begins
construction of a $1.2 billion power plant in southern Iran
Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak arrived in the Iranian Sirik town, 140 km west of Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province, on Monday to attend a ceremony to start construction of a 1400 MW steam power plant. The ceremony was attended by Iran’s Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian, and according to the local media, the plant will be built in 55 months and will cost $1.2bn. Russian Sputnik wrote that the agreement for the construction of the plant was signed in Dec 2016 between the Russian Tekhnopromexport and an Iranian company. Tasnim quoted Novak as saying that this is an important project because after 20 years, cooperation in the power plant construction is resumed. He also held talks with Chitchian to follow up talks on synchronization of electricity networks. Novak said our cooperation are not limited to the power sector and one of the long term objectives Russia pursues in relations with Iran is establishing a free zone between Iran-Russia and Iran-Eurasia.
