A total of 1.71 million tons of non-oil goods worth $1.91 billion were imported into Iran from Feb. 18, when the first case of the new coronavirus, also known as Covid-19, was officially reported in Iran, to March 3, according to the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi.
During the same two-week period of last year, about 1.26 million tons of goods worth $1.82 billion were imported, he added.
“On a year-on-year basis, the figure shows a 35.5% and 5.1% increase in weight and value, respectively,” he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Latifi said Iran exported 4.11 million tons of non-oil goods worth $1.28 billion over the same period, registering a 20% decline in weight and a 30% decrease in value year-on-year.
“The imports saw a 12.5% increase and exports registered a 34% decrease in weight during two weeks following Feb. 18 compared with two weeks prior to the date,” he added.
Latifi's comments came after director general of International Transit and Transport Office of Iran Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization, Manouchehr Salmanzadeh, said Iran’s overall foreign trade has declined 18% due to the spread of the new coronavirus and restrictions imposed on borders, Fars News Agency.
Trade restrictions have been imposed on almost every border crossing Iran has with neighboring countries. Some neighbors have imposed all-out bans on trade exchanges with Iran while other are applying ad-hoc measures at the borders to restrict the flow of goods.
“Iraq will halt border trade with Iran as well as with Kuwait between March 8 and 15 to curb the spread of coronavirus,” Iraqi Health Minister Jaafar Sadiq Allawi said in a televised press conference.
Sea- and air-borne trade will continue as long as personnel and goods involved have the necessary paperwork from their countries of origin to show that they are free from the disease, he added.
Cross-Border Trade With Turkey, Pakistan
Turkey's International Transporters Association (UND), an umbrella organization of trailer truck drivers, has developed a formula with the Turkish Health Ministry to conduct cross-border trade with Iran and Iraq despite a travel ban to those two countries due to the coronavirus.
After the travel ban on several countries, including neighboring Iran and Iraq, was imposed by the ministry, land transport was also suspended, causing distress on both sides of the border, an executive of UND told the Turkish daily Hurriyet.
“Some 1,500 trailer trucks enter Iraq [from Turkey] every day. The same number of trucks come into Turkey from Iraq. There’s a humanitarian side in this trade, because they [Iraqis] don’t have any opportunity to get goods from anywhere else. The same applies to Iran,” said Fatih Sener, the strategy and business development director of UND.
UND issued a notice to truck drivers and transportation companies on the new formula regarding border trade through the Habur Border Gate on Turkey’s Iraqi border.
Turkish truck drivers would park the trailers at the buffer zone between Habur gate and Iraq’s Ibrahim Khalil Border crossing as of March 2, the notice said.
They are supposed to wear gloves and masks in accordance with advises from the Health Ministry, which will provide assistance at the border gate, it added.
Trailers left inside the buffer zone by Turkish drivers will be taken into Iraq by another tractor driven by a driver from the Iraqi side.
“We are planning to put the same formula into effect with Iran in a week. Goods from Turkey in Iran are needed very much, because their border gates with Azerbaijan, Armenia and Afghanistan are closed,” said Sener.
On Saturday, trade activities between Pakistan and Iran resumed after a 13-day suspension amid fears of coronavirus outbreak.
Over 35 long vehicles loaded with liquefied petroleum gas and other commodities were allowed to enter Pakistan through the Taftan dry port, a senior official of Levies Force told Dawn.
The official said Iranian drivers and cleaners were screened after their arrival at Taftan border.
Pakistan closed its border with Iran on Feb. 23, following the confirmation of the first two coronavirus cases in the country.
Latest Official Trade Statistics
Latest official data on Iran's trade show the country exchanged $79 billion worth of goods during the first 11 months of the current year that started on March 21, 2019.
“Exports (except those of crude oil) and imports during the first 11 months of the current year stood at $39 billion and $40 billion respectively,” Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Farhad Dejpasand said in a meeting with representatives of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture recently.
Noting that capital goods account for 85% of imports, the official added that at present exporters are the main suppliers of foreign currency needed for imports.
“Maritime transport accounts for more than 90% of global trade in the world. Countries with access to high seas have considerable potential to benefit from foreign trade," Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, who was also present at meeting, said.
“In the 1960s, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development announced that Iran enjoys excellent geographical potential for maritime trade, thanks to its thousands of kilometers of sea borders. We are the only country located along the route of the International North-South and East-West Transport Corridors,” he concluded.
