Iran's exports to India register a 90.89% year-on-year increase in 2023 while India's exports to Iran fell by 34.31%, the latest figures released by the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry show.

Overall trade between the countries dropped by 6.13% after the trade balance between the two countries totaled $412 million in the first two months of 2022.

Iranian exports to India have gradually increased from 2021, $409 million to $653 million in 2022, with the first two months of 2023 registering massive growth. 

The Indian ministry put the worth of Iran’s exports to India at $653 million in 2022, while the figure was $409 million in 2021.

A report by the Financial Tribune shows that the vast majority of goods imported to India are petroleum products with an estimated worth of $52 million, followed by dye intermediates at $40 million and fresh fruit at $28 million. 

On the other hand, Rice was India's largest export to Tehran in 2022 as the country sold $1.098 billion worth of rice to the Islamic Republic of Iran. 

In late May 2022, the Iranian ambassador to India said that Iran and India are trying to diversify the channels of payments to expand bilateral trade.

Ali Chegeni Iran's ambassador to India said, "We are trying to diversify the channels of payments and accordingly wish to extend and expand an already existing mechanism in order to cover all of the goods and services including all of the non-oil goods and to achieve this," the diplomat added, "We want to develop our economic and trade relations beyond energy and petrochemical products."

Iran looks to add non-petroleum-based goods to the overall trade portfolio of the two countries. The Iranian official pointed to the "complementarity of Iran and India's economies" which would aid the process of trade diversification, especially in sectors such as services, investment, tourism, and education among other goods-based products.