Iran exported 2.38 million tons of bitumen worth $561 million during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Nov. 21) registering a 7.46% decline in tonnage and a 16.15% increase in value compared with last year’s corresponding period.
According to Alireza Dashtani, an official with Hormozgan Customs Administration, the UAE, India, Qatar, Kenya, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Turkey, Oman, Iraq and Sri Lanka were major customers of Iranian bitumen during the period, IRNA reported.
A majority of the exports were made from the southern Iranian province. A total of 1.68 million tons of bitumen worth $395 million were shipped from Hormozgan during the eight months, down 4.81% in tonnage and up 19.34% in value year-on-year.
According to the head of Hormozgan Industries, Mining and Trade Organization, Khalil Qasemi, Hormozgan has a 7% share of the world’s bitumen output.
The southern Iranian province is Iran's top bitumen producer in the country, accounting for more than 55% of Iran’s bitumen production.
The official said more than 1.4 million barrels of bitumen have been produced in the province since the beginning of the year, going up staggeringly by 72% YOY.
According to Qasemi, bitumen produced in Hormozgan were exported to Persian Gulf littoral countries, India, China and East African nations.
There are 24 active bitumen production units in Hormozgan, providing jobs for over 1,200 people.
Hormozgan Province, where Shahid Rajaee is located, plays an important role in Iran’s foreign trade. It has 32 active ports, including Shahid Bahonar, Jask, Lengeh, Tiab, Aftab and Kish, which act as backups to Shahid Rajaee.
More than 37.67 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in Shahid Rajaee Port during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22).
This registered an 11.4% decline compared with the similar period of last year, data released by the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran's website showed.
Non-oil goods accounted for 25.16 million tons and oil products for 12.51 million tons of the total, showing an 11.7% and 10.7% fall respectively year-on-year.
Container loading and unloading stood at 956,334 TEUs, indicating a 29.85% decrease over the six-month period compared with the corresponding period of the preceding year.
In the last Iranian year (March 2017-18), loading and unloading at the strategic Iranian port stood at more than 87.03 million tons to register an 8% increase compared with the year before.
Non-oil exports from the port exceeded 39.39 million tons to register an 8% rise while imports reached 9.58 million tons, almost unchanged year-on-year.
Oil exports and imports from and into the port were close to 8.12 million tons and 2.7 million tons respectively.
Located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s biggest container port at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out via Shahid Rajaee. It also accounts for over 85% of all container throughput in the country.
