An overview on the trade between Iran and EU in 2019 first half; Is the Green Continent going to be written-off from Iran’s export destinations?
Iran’s export to EU has met a drastic fall in first half of 2019. According to the published statistic from global sources, Export from Iran to EU in first half of 2019 in comparison to the same period of last year has faced a 93% decrease with its main reason reduction of mineral fuels, lubricants and related products export.
Due to the significant share of Iranian petroleum products to Europe, the decline in export of this product group has deteriorated the Trade balance between the two. This indicates a lack of diversity in export products and consequently high vulnerability of oil export.
On the other hand, the value of Iran’s import from EU has also reduced 53% which shows the intense drop of machinery and transport equipment in the foresaid period. Even the earlier agreements on Iran’s remining in the JCPOA appear to have prevented trade between Iran and the European Union from slowing, and practically what would stagnate the trade between Iran and Europe was not the endorsement of related governments but the restrictions imposed on European firms by the sanctions imposed.
Moreover, part of this drop of import from Europe may be due to strict rules, limitations and prohibitions on import executed by Iranian government.
The dominant factor in reducing Iran’s imports from the EU in the first half was the decline in imports of machinery and transport equipment from the EU. Since then, the drop in imports of chemicals and other related products and artifacts have been other major factors in reducing Iran’s imports from the European Union.
Comparison of the group of goods imported from the European Union from the EU in the first six months of the year, and the same period a year earlier, implies that the share of imports of goods group of machinery, equipment and transport goods and goods of the group decreased in the first six months of the year compared to the same period of the year.
Other commodity groups have increased during this period. The four major imported countries of Iran from the European Union in the first half of the year, respectively, are Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and France. But in the first six months of the year, Iran’s imports from most EU member states, except for Bulgaria and Cyprus, declined. The largest decline in Iran’s imports in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period last year, was from Latvia, Sweden, Slovakia, Romania and Spain, respectively.