In general, Iran’s exports can be divided into two main parts: oil exports and non-oil exports. The Iranian government is always trying to increase its non-oil exports and free itself from dependence on oil exports. Some of the most important exports of Iran will be mentioned below.

According to the statistics published by the customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the first 7 months of 2021 in the non-oil export sector, Iran has earned foreign exchange worth 14,668 million dollars by exporting 42,750,000 tons of petrochemical products and gas condensates. In addition to the export of petrochemicals, mining and mineral industries, agriculture and food industries, carpets and handicrafts and industrial products account for the majority of Iran’s exports. In the first seven months of that year, the amount of exports of the mining and mineral industries sector was equal to 7043 million dollars. This amount was 2802 million dollars for agriculture and food industry, 86 million dollars for carpets and handicrafts, and 1375 million dollars for industrial goods. By comparing these values with the amount of exports in the same period of 2019, we have faced an increase in exports in all products. In 2021, about 123 million tons of Iranian goods were exported to other countries, which recorded an increase of 9% in terms of weight and a 40% increase in terms of value. Also, during this period, about 41 million tons of goods were imported into Iran, which shows a 36% increase in terms of weight and a 22% increase in terms of value. Iran’s trade balance also remained negative this year for the third year in a row.

All kinds of Iranian export products

Today, very important exports are carried out in different countries of the world and this action takes place in different areas. Oil and chemical products and derivatives are one of the most important groups of Iran’s exports, which have a greater share in the amount of exports. Benefiting from 400 oil and gas fields, Iran has the capacity to produce 340 billion barrels of oil. The government’s policies regarding the secrecy of the country’s export performance in the field of oil and gas have made accurate information about the amount of Iran’s oil and gas exports unavailable. But according to recently published statistics, in 2020, the country’s oil exports were equal to 1,926,542 billion dollars.

According to published global statistics, Iran’s most important non-oil exports in 2020 include the following categories:

• Plastic
• Organic chemicals
• Edible vegetables, fruits and edible nuts; Citrus or melon peel
• Iron and steel
• Salt; sulfur; soil and stone; Plastering materials, lime and cement
• Copper, zinc and their products
• Ore, slag and ash
• Fertilizers
• Inorganic chemicals; Organic or inorganic compounds of precious metals, rare earth metals, …
• Fish, shrimp and other aquatics

Among the export goods, liquefied natural gas, methanol, polyethylene, urea and iron and steel ingots are the main goods exported to other countries.