What Iran Exports to Italy: Top 10 Products by Value
Italy is Iran’s second-largest EU trading partner, but the products moving between the two countries look quite different from Iran’s trade with Germany — iron and steel lead the list here, not food.
Iran Exports to Italy: The Real Top 10
1. Iron and steel — $53.4M. By far Italy’s largest import category from Iran, and unaffected by any food-related restrictions — a genuinely stable category to build around right now.
2. Edible fruits, nuts & citrus peel — $21.9M. Iran’s agricultural exports, currently paused under the country’s own indefinite export ban on food and agricultural products, in place since March 2026.
3. Pharmaceutical products — $19.9M, unaffected by the food export restriction.
4. Articles of iron or steel — $15.8M, largely cast iron goods — another stable, unaffected category.
5. Vegetable, fruit & nut food preparations — $14.9M — processed food, subject to the same current export restriction as raw fruit and nuts.
6. Edible vegetables, roots & tubers — $12.7M — also currently paused.
7. Plastics — $11.7M, unaffected.
8. Salt, sulphur, stone, plaster & cement — $8.8M, unaffected.
9. Aluminum — $8.0M, unaffected.
10. Coffee, tea, mate & spices — $6.8M — this category includes saffron, one of Iran’s best-known exports, currently affected by the food restriction alongside the other agricultural categories above.
What This Means for Shipping to Italy Right Now
Roughly half of this list — iron/steel, pharmaceuticals, plastics, cement materials, and aluminum — moves independently of Iran’s current food export restriction, making these the categories worth focusing on while the ban remains in place. The food and agricultural categories will pick back up once the restriction lifts, but there’s no confirmed timeline for that yet.
For shipping, cargo moves overland to Mersin, Turkey or Poti, Georgia, then by sea toward Italian ports — the same Mediterranean shipping network that connects to the rest of Europe.
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Documentation and handling requirements vary by product category. Contact HAPCO’s team to confirm what’s currently shippable for your specific cargo and get a route plan.
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