A total of 22.27 million tons of essential goods were loaded and unloaded at Khuzestan Province’s Imam Khomeini Port during the first nine months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Dec. 21).
“Some 14 million tons out of the total sum were unloaded and the remaining 8 million tons were loaded,” Director General of Khuzestan Ports and Maritime Organization Adel Deris was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
According to the official, 75-80% of Iran's essential goods are imported through Imam Khomeini Port.
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products and services consumers will buy regardless of changes in income levels.
More than 16.5 million tons of essential goods, including corn, rice, oilseeds, vegetable oil, pharmaceuticals, barley, red meat, soybean meal, sugar, fertilizer and chicken, were imported into the country during the nine months, indicating a 19% rise in weight and 15% increase in value year-on-year.
“Customs clearance of imported essential goods via the "green channel" reached an all-time high in the month ending Dec. 21,” says Mehrdad Jamal Arvanaqi, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
“In the same month, 51% of all declaration forms for essential goods were approved for clearance through the green channel with the least legal formalities compared with the previous months' 10%.”
A total of 25,943 tons of rice were cleared from customs in the month ending Oct. 22. In the following month, 26,533 tons were imported while last month, a total of 103,288 tons of rice were cleared by customs, indicating a sixfold rise month-on-month.
The customs clearance of meat decreased from 17,976 tons in the month ending Oct. 22 to 10,721 tons in the month ending Nov. 21, but climbed to 18,046 tons last month.
Soybean oilcake’s customs clearance stood at 73,197 tons in the month ending Oct. 22 compared with 58,405 tons in the month ending Nov. 21. Last month, a total of 172,714 tons of soybean oilcake were cleared by customs.
A total of 613,749 tons of corn were cleared in the month ending Nov. 21 compared with 717,599 tons last month.
About 50,280 tons of fertilizers were released from customs in the month ending Oct. 22 compared with 17,585 tons in the following month and 57,739 tons in the month ending Dec. 21.
A total of 54,000 tons of printer paper were cleared by customs in the month ending Oct. 22 compared with 52,547 tons in the month ending Nov. 21 and 89,980 tons in the following month.
A total of 7,370 tons of pulses were cleared by customs in the month ending Oct. 22 compared with 9,598 tons in the month ending Dec. 21.
The customs clearance of oilseeds stood at 36,482 tons in the month ending Oct. 22, 28,942 tons in the month ending Nov. 21 and a total of 67,465 tons in the following month.
Latest figures published on the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran’s website show Imam Khomeini Port was the second busiest port during the period after Shahid Rajaee, as it handled over 33.37 million tons of commodities. The figure shows a 12.12% increase year-on-year.
Non-oil goods accounted for more than 22.13 million tons and oil products for over 11.24 million tons of the total throughput in Imam Khomeini Port, registering a 17.57% and 2.74% growth respectively year-on-year.
Imam Khomeini Port is located at the terminus of the trans-Iranian railroad linking the Persian Gulf with Tehran and on to the Caspian Sea. It is a transshipment point for containers, bulk and general cargo, with exclusive access to the facilities owned by Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines.
The port has seven terminals with 40 berths of about 6,500 meters frontage.
