Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq recorded a trade surplus of approximately $24.686 billion in 2025, driven by exports outpacing imports across all four quarters of the year, according to data released Monday by the Central Bank of Iraq (CBI).

Total exports reached roughly $90.43 billion against imports of $65.74 billion, based on foreign trade figures calculated on a free-on-board (FOB) basis —a methodology that values goods at the point of loading in the exporting country, excluding shipping and insurance costs.

Exports declined gradually through the first three quarters before a marginal recovery in the final months of the year. The first quarter led with $24.11 billion, followed by $23.29 billion in the second quarter and $21.41 billion in the third, before edging up to $21.62 billion in the fourth quarter.

Imports followed a broadly similar downward trajectory. The first quarter recorded $18.16 billion, with the figure falling to $15.99 billion in the second quarter and $16.10 billion in the third, before dropping to $15.49 billion in the fourth —the lowest quarterly import figure of the year.

The surplus was sustained in every quarter without exception, with exports consistently exceeding imports throughout 2025, the data showed.