RoydadNaft –  Iran has reported a significant fall in its exports to Iraq amid lower volumes of natural gas being delivered to the neighboring country.

The chairman of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce said on Tuesday that Iran’s exports to Iraq had declined by 18% year on year in the five months to August 22 to reach $3.750 billion.

Yahya Al Es’haq said that Iran’s exports to Iraq had decreased by nearly 24% in volume terms year on year in the June quarter to reach just over 10 million metric tons.

Al Es’haq said that Iranian exports to Iraq could rebound in the second half of the calendar year that ends in March, adding that total exports, including shipments not registered by the Iranian customs office and Oil Ministry, are expected to reach $14 billion.

He said that exports to Iraq accounted for nearly 18% of Iran’s total exports in the five months to late August.

The businessman added that Iraq’s exports to Iran had amounted to only $176 million in the April-August period.

An official from Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) said on Tuesday that the fall in Iranian exports to Iraq in the five months to late August was mainly due to lower natural gas deliveries to the neighboring country.

TPO’s head of West Asia Office Abdolamir Rabihavi said that Iranian gas exports to Iraq had declined by more than 40% year on year in the April-August period to reach $950 million.

Al Es’haq said that Iran still counts on Iraq as a major export destination, adding that exports to the Arab country are expected to hit a target of $20 billion in the next few years.