A total of 1 million tons of essential goods were unloaded at Shahid Rajaee Port in the southern Hormozgan Province since the beginning of the current Iranian year up until July 5 to register a 20% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
According to Director General of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization Allahmorad Afifipour, the unloaded goods mainly included vegetable oil, wheat, sugar, fertilizers and paper pulp, the official was quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban development.
He noted that 20 vessels carried the aforementioned essential goods to Shahid Rajaee Port over the period under review.
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
“More than 6.6 million tons of essential goods have been unloaded at Iranian ports since March 20 [the beginning of the current Iranian year],” Ravanbakhsh Behzadian, a senior official with the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran, said recently.
Behzadian noted that year to date, corn and wheat have been the country’s main imported essential goods: 2.6 million tons of corn and 2.1 million tons of wheat were unloaded at ports during the period.
“At present, 3.6 million tons of essential goods are lying in Iranian ports, the lion’s share of which is 1.9 million tons of corn,” he was quoted as saying by IRIB News last week.
Imam Khomeini Port is the main hub for import of essential goods in Iran as it accounts for 4.1 million tons of the 6.6 million sum.
A total of 25.09 million tons of essential goods worth close to $15.5 billion were imported into Iran during the last fiscal year (March 2019-20) to register 20.77% and 17.13% increases in weight and value respectively compared with the year before.
This amount of essential goods imports accounted for close to 71% and 35% of the volume and value of last year’s total imports respectively, according to spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs administration, Rouhollah Latifi.
“The imported essential commodities included wheat, sugar, corn, rubber, barley, processed tea, rice, different kinds of seeds, red meat, soybeans, pulses, paper, chemical fertilizers and industrial machinery,” he was quoted by ISNA as saying.
Iran's Biggest Container Port
Located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province, Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s biggest container port.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee that 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.
Latest data released by PMO show a total of 13.24 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in Shahid Rajaee Port during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 20-June 20), registering a 27.11% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
This has made Shahid Rajaee the country’s busiest port during the period, as in previous reports. Non-oil goods accounted for around 6.55 million tons and oil products for more than 6.68 million tons of the total, showing a 45.19% decline and a 7.76% rise respectively year-on-year.
Overall, Iran’s 21 major commercial ports loaded and unloaded a total of 28.65 million tons of commodities in Q1 (March 20-June 20) to register a 27.86% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
The decline comes amid heavily-imposed economic sanctions against Iran by the United States, the effects of which have been further complicated by the worldwide outbreak of coronavirus and the subsequent decline in global trade.
Non-oil goods accounted for 18.99 million tons of the total throughput (66%), showing a 33.72% fall year-on-year.
The remaining 9.66 million tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 12.71% decline YOY.
Container loading and unloading decreased by 30% to stand at more than 342,915 TEUs.
More than 11.78 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports and over 8.36 million tons were imported, registering a 35.59% and 0.47% decline respectively YOY.
A total of 605,828 tons of goods were transited through Iranian ports during the same period, indicating a 48.68% decrease YOY.
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 the 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 Caspian Sea shoreline.
More than 139.65 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded at the aforementioned ports in the last Iranian year (March 2019-20) to register a meager rise of 0.17% compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Non-oil goods accounted for more than 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.
Around 69.65 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports under review and more than 31.15 million tons were imported during the period, registering a 10.28% and 13.92% growth respectively compared with the similar period of last year.
