A total of 824,000 tons of goods were exported from Mazandaran Province during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21), registering a 5% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to Mohammad Bakeri, a local official.
Cement, mineral products and dairy products were the main export commodities, the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development reported.
A total of 717,550 tons of goods were imported into Iran via ports in the Caspian province during the same period, he added.
The imports mainly included corn, barley, wheat and different kinds of edible oil.
The official noted that 189,000 tons of foreign goods were transited from Mazandaran during the same period, registering a 65% year-on-year rise.
Amirabad Port handled the highest volume of foreign transit.
Mazandaran has three ports, namely Amirabad, Noshahr and Fereydounkenar, with the first being the most active in the region.
Amirabad is the largest port facility on the Caspian shore and the third largest in Iran.
The total commercial capacity of the ports of northern Mazandaran Province stands at 13 million tons, of which Amirabad accounts for 7.5 million tons, Noshahr 4.5 million tons and Fereydounkenar 1 million tons.
According to Mohammad Ali Asl-Saeedipour, director general of Amirabad Ports and Maritime Organization, its location along the International North-South Transportation Corridor makes transportation through Amirabad Port safe, cost-effective and much faster than alternative routes.
Mazandaran is a major producer and exporter of citrus fruit.
“At present, there are 500 sorting units with a capacity of 250,000 tons of citrus fruits, 119 cold storage facilities with a 473-ton capacity and 148 warehouse units with a capacity of 381 tons of such fruits in the province. This has increased exports and reduced the amount of fruit that perishes and goes to waste every year,” Had Izadi, a local official, has been quoted as saying by IRNA.
Mazandaran’s citrus fruit orchards stretch across 112,000 hectares, of which 110,000 hectares currently bear fruit. Out of 80,000 hectares, 30,000 hectares have undergone orange and tangerine cultivation, while lemons, limes and bitter oranges are produced on the rest.
According to Hossein Negahdar, the deputy head of Mazandaran Agricultural Organization, the province accounts for around a quarter of Iran’s total employment in the agriculture sector.
Mazandaran Province, located in northern Iran along the Caspian Sea, cultivates 72 kinds of agricultural products, the annual yields of which amount to nearly 7 million tons. It accounts for only 2.5% of Iran’s arable land, yet produces 7% and 11% of the country’s agricultural products in weight and value respectively per year.
According to Hosseinali Qovanlou, a local official, food industries account for 42% of the province’s production units.
With 150,000 hectares of orchards, Mazandaran is the top producer of horticultural products in Iran.
