Iran ups non-oil exports by 28%

Senior Iranian trade officials announced that the country\'s non-oil exports increased by 28% in the last 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2011- February 20, 2012). The Head of Iran\'s Trade Promotion Organization, Hamid Safdel, said that the value of Iran\'s non-oil exports has reached $43bln in the said period. He told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting that the figure shows a 28-percent rise compared with the same period last year. He said that Iran plans to raise the value of its non-oil exports to $45bln by the end of the current Iranian year. Earlier this month, Iran\'s First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said that the country plans to boost its non-oil exports to $70bln in the next Iranian year (starts on March 20). \"The government targets $70 billion of non-oil exports in 1391 (March 20, 2012-March 20, 2013),\" Rahimi said at the time. Late in December, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad lauded the country\'s growing non-oil exports, and said Iran\'s non-oil exports will equal its imports in the next Iranian year. \"The value of Iran\'s non-oil exports in 2005 was $7bln but it has already reached $32.6bln under the present government and will reach $45bln this year,\" Ahmadinejad announced at the time. \"God willing, non-oil exports will equal (Iran\'s) imports by the end of 1391 (march 19, 2013),\" he said, adding, \"That would be a great revolution in the country\'s economy.\"