Iran has been ramping up trade with members of the BRICS group, as Tehran looks to join the five-nation alliance that is often seen as an alternative to the Western economic and political hegemony.
BRICS is comprised of the emerging economies of Brazil, China, India, Russia and South Africa. The alliance accounts for 42% of the global population and about 26% of the world’s economy, according to the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.
Iran’s state-run Tasnim news agency on Wednesday reported that the value of the Persian country’s non-oil trade with BRICS members hit $38.43 billion in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, a 14% increase compared to the same period a year earlier, according to data from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).
China is Iran’s main trading partner in the BRICS alliance, accounting for $30.32 billion worth of trade, followed by India ($4.99 billion), Russia ($2.32 billion), Brazil ($466.55 million) and South Africa ($322.04 million), the IRICA data showed.
