Republic of Iran

·  Full name: Islamic Republic of Iran

·  Population: 74.8 million (UN, 2011)

·  Capital: Tehran

·  Area: 1.65 million sq km (636,313 sq miles)

·  Major language: Persian

·  Major religion: Islam

·  Life expectancy: 72 years (men), 75 years (women) (UN)

·  Monetary unit: 10 Iranian rials = 1 toman

·  Main exports: Petroleum, carpets, agricultural products

·  GNI per capita: US $3,520 (World Bank, 2011)

·  Internet domain: .ir

·  International dialling code: +98

Total: 3,480,818 267,845,457 -264,364,639 271,326,274

v  The preceding table indicates the Export, Import, Trade balance, Total Trade turn over and annual growth rate between Ethiopia & Islamic Republic of Iran from 2004 up to 2011 GC.

v  The table illustrates that the trade relationship between the two countries is significant though with a fluctuating rate of growth.

v  Our total export to Iran over the years 2004-2011G.C reached USD 3,480,818 while our import in the same years reached about USD 267,845,457.

v  The total trade turnover has increased from just 10.9 million dollar in 2004 to more than 39.5 million dollars in 2011 G.C showing a growth rate of 263%.

EXPORT

v  Since the Ethiopian Economy is an agrarian economy most of the exportable commodities are agricultural & semi processed commodities.

v  Some of the major goods exported to Iran from 2004-2011 includes:

Ø  Sesamum Seeds (Amount USD 1,262,595 )

Ø  Dried Chickpeas, Shelled (Amount USD 1,098,900)

Ø  Dried Kidney beans and white Pea beans (Amount USD 197,040)

Ø  Dried lentils, Shelled (Amount USD 160,417)

Ø  Coffee not roasted or decaffeinated (Amount USD 79,575)

IMPORT

v  The major imported commodities from Russia to Ethiopia include the following:

Ø  Bitumen and Asphalt (Amount USD 77,498,586 )

Ø  Bituminous and Tar sands (Amount USD 45,403,938 )

Ø  Petroleum Jelly (Amount USD 17,788,831 )

Ø  Petroleum Bitumen (Amount USD 9,661,463 )

Ø  Paraffin wax (Amount USD 6,375,665 )

Conclusion

v  It is evident from the Import-Export data that the balance of trade is highly remained to be in favor of Iran due to heavy imports of Petroleum products.

RECCOMMENDATION ON the EXISTING TRADE RELATION

ü  Since our export to Iran is agricultural commodities one way that we can reduce our trade balance deficit is by improving the volume and qualities of our export in terms of packaging, cost and delivery time. We could as well go for processing our exports so as to add value.

ü  Encouraging the Iranian business community to work in partnership with Ethiopian counter parts for mutual benefits in terms of cheap labor, technology transfer, and new market access.

ü  Creating sustainable relationship with the two countries business people through memorandum of understanding.