More than 139.65 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded at Iran’s 21 commercial ports during the last Iranian year (March 2019-20) to register a meager rise of 0.17% compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Latest figures published on the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran’s website show non-oil goods accounted for 95.48 million tons of the total throughput, showing a 0.08% year-on-year growth.
The remaining 44.16 million tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 0.7% increase YOY.
Container loading and unloading declined by 35.95% to stand at 1.38 million TEUs.
Around 69.65 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports under review and 31.15 million tons were imported during the period, showing a 10.28% and 13.92% growth respectively YOY.
A total of 3.85 million tons of goods were transited through these ports during the same period to register a 41.71% YOY decline.
The 21 ports under study include Iran’s southern ports of Abadan, Imam Khomeini, Bushehr, Khorramshahr, Genaveh, Bandar Lengeh, Chavibdeh, Arvandkenar, Charak and Dayyer located on the shores of Persian Gulf, Shahid Rajaee, Shahid Bahonar, Qeshm and Tiab at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Jask and Chabahar on the coasts of the Sea of Oman and the northern ports of Fereydounkenar, Noshahr, Astara, Amirabad and Anzali on the shoreline of Caspian Sea.
Shahid Rajaee was the busiest port during the period under review.
More than 68.92 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in this port, registering a 1.74% growth compared with the similar period of last year.
Non-oil goods accounted for 43.32 million tons and oil products for 25.59 million tons of the total, showing a 0.47% decline and a 5.33% growth respectively year-on-year.
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.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee. The port complex also accounts for over 85% of all container throughput in the country.
According to Mohammad Reza Rezaei-Kouchi, the head of Majlis Development Commission, Shahid Rajaee Port has a 6% share in the region’s total container throughput per annum, ILNA reported.
Imam Khomeini Port in the southern Khuzestan Province was the second busiest port during last year, as it handled more than 44.15 million tons of commodities. The figure shows a 13.26% increase YOY.
Non-oil goods accounted for 29.45 million tons and oil products for 14.7 million tons of the total throughput in Imam Khomeini Port, registering an 18.88% and 3.46% growth respectively YOY.
The third busiest was Qeshm Port also in southern Iran. More than 7.04 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded there, indicating a 15.8% increase YOY.
Non-oil goods accounted for 6.98 million tons and oil products for 133,342 tons of the total throughput in Qeshm Port, showing a 16.86% and 18.9% growth respectively YOY.
A total of 134.06 million passengers were transported to and from the aforementioned ports, registering a 21.48% decrease compared with last year’s similar period.
