Exports from Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan Province to Iraq reached 4.3 million tons worth $720 million during the first 11 months of the current Iranian year (March 21, 2022-Feb. 19), according to Behrouz Qarebeygi, a local customs official.
The exports mainly included construction materials, clinker, food products, vegetable, farmed seafood, dairy products, household appliances and steel products.
Khuzestan earned 114.93 trillion rials ($200 million) in customs revenues during the period, registering a growth of 137% compared with last year’s same period, IRIB News reported.
Most of the exports from Khuzestan are shipped from Imam Khomeini Port.
Imam Khomeini is also the main port of entry for essential goods (wheat, barley, rice and edible oil) in Iran.
The lion’s share of Iran’s demand for livestock feed raw material and grains are imported through this port, which is the country’s second busiest port after Shahid Rajaee Port in Hormozgan Province.
Imam Khomeini boasts 40 wharfs, 140 kilometers of railroads within its premises and equipped with the latest loading and unloading facilities.
Other ports in Khuzestan include Khorramshahr, Abadan and Arvandkenar.
The total throughput capacity of Khuzestan’s ports is 60 million tons per year.
Khuzestan is the major oil-producing region of Iran and as such is one of the wealthiest provinces in Iran. It is home to Yadavaran Field, which is a major oilfield.
The province holds 80% of Iran's onshore oil reserves and 57% of Iran's total oil reserves, making it indispensable to the Iranian economy.
Local agricultural products include wheat, barley, oilseeds, rice, eucalyptus, medicinal herbs and sugarcane. The province is also home to many palm and citrus farms.
The province is also home to the Arvand Free Trade Zone and the PETZONE (Petrochemical Special Economic Zone) in Mahshahr.
The Arvand zone is located on the northern tip of Persian Gulf and borders Khuzestan Province and the major cities of Khorramshahr, Abadan and Minoushahr. The zone is spread across 8,600 hectares and includes administrative, tourism and commercial areas.
The free zone is of special significance, as it is in the neighborhood of Iraq and Kuwait.
Bordering Arvand River and beyond that southern Iraq, the FTZ has a unique proposition on offer. It has direct access to the Iraqi market.
Among all of Iran’s neighboring countries, Iraq is the largest market for Iranian products.
In 2004, the zone’s transformation from a rural to industrial and commercial region started. It was officially demarcated by 2005.
Some 190 production units are active in Arvand FTZ.
