8-Fold Increase in Italy’s Imports from Iran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A report released by the statistical office of the European Union (EU), Eurostat, revealed that the Italian imports from Iran in October have dramatically increased, compared to the same month last year.
The value of Iran’s exports to Italy in October reached 65 million euros, showing an eight-fold increase compared to the same period in 2013, when the figure stood at €8.4 million, according to the report.
The value of trade transactions between Iran and Italy in October 2013 amounted to €91.4 million, while the figure hit €179 million in the same month in 2014, which indicated a 95 percent growth, the Eurostat data showed.
Italy was the biggest importer of Iranian goods among the EU members states in October, allocating more than half of the commodities the bloc imported from Iran.
The data also indicate that the total value of Italy’s exports to the Islamic Republic in October 2014 amounted to €114 million, showing a 37 percent increase compared with same period last year, in which the figure amounted to €83 million.
Following the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s “constructive interaction” policy with the world since August 2013, a whole host of Western companies have been vying for Iran’s market, particularly after an interim nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) are in talks to hammer out a final deal to end a decade of impasse over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear energy program.
On November 24, 2013, Iran and the G5+1 (alternatively known as the P5+1 or E3+3) signed the interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva.