07/05/2017, 17.48
IRAN – EUROPEAN UNION
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Trade between Iran and Europe up, non-petroleum goods grow five folds

Iranian exports to Europe jumped 127 per cent compared to last year. Imports also grew. Volkswagen announces its return to the Iranian market.

Tehran (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Iranian official sources have announced that Iranian exports of non-petroleum products to the European Union saw a huge increase compared to last year, a positive trend confirmed by Volkswagen’s return to the Iranian market.

The value of Iran's exports to the EU from January to April 2017 reached € 3.4 (billion US$ 3.9 billion). This represents a five-fold jump compared to the same period last year when Iran's exports to the Union stood at around € 0.7 billion.

Overall Iran's trade with the EU over the same period reached around € 6.5 billion - an increase of about 127 per cent. EU exports to Iran also rose by 44 per cent from January to April to a total value of € 3.1 billion. In 2016, the figure stood at € 2.1 billion.

The bulk of the exports in industrial goods included hot-rolled non-alloy iron, steel, non-alloy iron and steel in forms other than ingots top the list of Iran's exports to the EU. Other popular products include condensate, light oils and methanol. Key consumers of Iranian goods are Spain, France, Greece, and Italy.

However, Germany is Iran's largest trade partner in Europe. Figures from last year show that the value of trade between the two countries stands at around € 3 billion, but officials on both sides have already voiced optimism that this could increase in the near future.

Meanwhile, German carmaker Volkswagen announced on Tuesday that it will resume selling cars in Iran from next month after signing a contract with local importer Mammut Khodro.

“By returning to Iran, the Volkswagen brand is filling another blank spot on the global automobile map,” said in a statement Volkswagen’s project manager for Iran.

The German carmaker, the market leader in Europe, pulled out of the Iranian market in 2000 due to international sanctions against the Islamic republic.

Other carmakers plan to follow. France’s Renault and PSA Group have announced their own plans to return to Iran.

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