Iran Military Forum

Iran exports surge 30% in 2011 despite sanctions, says WTO   
Economic Desk

On Line: 13 April 2012 15:43   
In Print: Saturday 14 April 2012
       
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TEHRAN — Iran’s exports have increased more than 30 percent in 2011, compared to 2010, despite the unjust economic bans imposed by the U.S. and its allies against the Islamic Republic, according to a recent report by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
 
The Geneva-based organization in its report “World Trade 2011”, which was published on Thursday, has praised Iran’s export growth in 2011, noting that while world trade expanded in 2011 by only 5 percent, Iran’s exports raised more than 30 percent.
 
According to the report, Iran exported more than 131 billion dollars of merchandise in 2011, ranking as the 23rd biggest exporter in the world. The country’s exports in 2010 stood at 101 billion dollars, the report further said.
 
The Islamic Republic’s share of world’s total exports has also improved, increasing from 0.8 percent in 2010 to 0.9 percent in 2011, the WTO said.
 
The country’s exports value has more than doubled in risen the last six years, from 56.2 billion dollars in 2005 to 131 billion dollars in 2011, the WTO statistics showed.
 
Sharp decline in world trade
 
World trade expanded in 2011 by 5.0 percent, a sharp deceleration from the 2010 rebound of 13.8 percent, and growth will slow further still to 3.7 percent in 2012, WTO economists project. They attributed the slowdown to the global economy losing momentum due to a number of shocks, including the European sovereign debt crisis.
 
"More than three years have passed since the trade collapse of 2008-09, but the world economy and trade remain fragile," WTO chief Pascal Lamy said in a press conference which has been published on the WTO website. "The further slowing of trade expected in 2012 shows that the downside risks remain high. We are not yet out of the woods."
 
Global forecasts remain uncertain due to the potential volatility caused by the eurozone crisis, U.S. debt concerns, economic aftershocks of the Japan earthquake and nuclear crisis, flooding in Thailand and the impact of continuing political unrest in the oil-rich Middle East.
 
The slowdown in 2012 would bring trade growth below the world average rate of 5.4 percent over the last 20 years, the WTO said. Developing economies are expected to lead the growth in goods traded this year with a forecast 5.6 percent increase in exports, compared to 2 percent for industrialized nations.
 
The forecast assumes a global output growth of 2.1 percent, down from 2.4 percent last year.
 
Lamy warned that protectionism could rise among governments grappling with the slow trade growth.
 
"The WTO has so far deterred economic nationalism, but the sluggish pace of recovery raises concerns that a steady trickle of restrictive trade measures could gradually undermine the benefits of trade openness," he said.
 
In 2013, the growth rate is expected to recover slightly again to 5.6 percent, the organization forecasted. This was the first time the WTO predicted a growth rate more than a year in advance.
 
Last year, developed countries did a bit better than expected, while the U.S. became a net exporter of fuels in large part because of coal exports to Japan, WTO officials said.
 
The U.S. saw exports grow 7.2 percent in 2011 after a rise of 15.4 percent the year before. The European Union saw exports grow 5.2 percent in 2011 after a rise of 11.5 percent the year before.
 
Japan's exports contracted by 0.5 percent, a sharp turnaround from its 27.5 percent rise in exports the year before, which had made up for the sharp 24.9 percent decline in 2009.
 
China, the world's biggest exporter, saw its growth in exports slow to 9.3 percent in 2011 after a surge of 28.4 percent the year before.
 
Measured in dollar terms, the total value of merchandise traded in 2011 was $18.2 trillion, a jump of 19 percent and an all-time global record driven by rising prices for fuels and other commodities.
 
The WTO, however, bases it forecast for growth rates on the volume of merchandise, since prices are difficult to predict.
 
The 2010 rate of 13.8 percent represented a slight downward revision to last year's reported figure of 14.5 percent — the biggest rise recorded since 1950 — based on more recent and complete data showing how economies rebounded from the global downturn.

http://tehrantimes.com/economy-and-business/96862-iran-exports-surge-30-in-2011-despite-sanctions-says-wto-

Iran's non-oil exports have surged despite international sanctions imposed on the country in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended March 20) to reach USD 50 billion.


“[Iran's] non-oil exports hit 43.8 billion dollars last year and if USD 4.2 billion of technical and engineering exports is added, the final figure will stand at USD 48 billion,” Trade Promotion Organization’s deputy director for trade aid said on Saturday.

Kioumars Fathollah Kermanshahi added that more than 25 Iranian companies have implemented various technical and engineering projects in the fields of power, industry, construction, energy, wastewater, surface waters and dam construction in 10 countries last year.

The official emphasized that industry, mines and trade were the most important ways of developing exports and supporting domestic production.

The growth in non-oil exports comes despite Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear energy program.

The US and the EU have imposed sanctions against Iran to prevent other countries from importing Iranian crude and doing business with the country’s central bank.

The West claims that Iran pursues military goals under the cover of its civilian nuclear energy program, but Tehran refutes their claims, saying that as a committed member of International Atomic Energy Agency it is entitled to peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/235068.html