The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced that its trade with African countries has reached $1.2 billion over the past two years, with non-oil exports making up a significant portion of this trade. This information was disclosed on the Iranian government’s official X page on Sunday. Amid reports of Iran’s increasing presence in the Nigerian market, it was revealed that Iran exported non-oil commodities worth $46.5 million to Nigeria in the first seven months of 2023, according to the Tehran Times.
Ruhollah Latifi, spokesman for Iran’s House of Industry, Mining and Trade’s Trade Development Committee, noted that Nigeria is the fourth-largest African export destination for Iranian products and the 15th-largest source of imports for Iran. Key Iranian exports to Nigeria include non-fillet fresh fish, non-fillet frozen fish, and plastic products. In 2023, Iran imported 38,122 tons of goods valued at $47.434 million from Africa. In a meeting with Nigerian officials, Iranian Trade Minister Seyyed Reza Fatemi Amin highlighted a 300% growth in bilateral trade value between Iran and Nigeria, reaching about $125 million.
Nigeria is a strategic target for Iran due to its status as Africa’s largest market, with a population of over 200 million. Iran aims to surpass other major trade partners of Nigeria, such as the Netherlands, India, Spain, Canada, and France. According to the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria’s top export destinations in Q4 2023 included the Netherlands and India, while its top import partners included Singapore and China.