China-Iran Trade Report (May 2021)
Customs Data Raises a Question
New data released by the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) for May marked imports at Iran at $551m, the highest level so far in 2021, just beating January’s import total. ___STEADY_PAYWALL___
Oil imports did not contribute to this total, with declared imports of Iranian oil remaining a negligible $5m. But customs data continues to indicate strong demand for Iranian oil, with declared imports from Malaysia reaching a staggering $3bn, a 65 percent surge from April’s total.
Looking to exports and imports directly attributed to trade with Iran, China’s trade surplus remained essentially unchanged over the month, totalling $65m in May compared to $67m in April. But looking year-on-year China-Iran trade remains below the levels seen during the first five months fo 2020. Monthly Chinese exports to Iran have averaged $593m compared to $737m at the same point last year. The monthly import average is $503m compared to $543m last year. Considering that Iran’s economy is growing at a faster rate this year than last, a question raised by this data is whether the supply chain shocks related to the pandemic spurred Iranian firms to find new suppliers, possibly through reexport, such that the relatively low level of China-Iran trade is serving as a less significant constraint on output.
