About 50,000 tons of non-oil goods worth $11.5 million were exported from Golestan Province in the first month of the current Iranian year (March 21-April 20), registering a growth of 573% and 70% in tonnage and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year.
According to Ebrahim Hosseini, a local official, polystyrene, cheese, dates, pistachio, cement, potato, iodine, pipes and iron profiles, rebars and tomato paste were the main exports.
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Romania, Italy, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan were the main destinations, IRNA reported.
About 162 tons of goods worth $905,185 were imported to this province in the same period, registering a decline of 76% and 50% in weight and value respectively year-on-year.
Stabilizers, textile, synthetic wax and antistatic devices were the main commodities imported from China, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Poland and Vietnam.
According to the official, Golestan earned 18 billion rials ($75,000) in customs revenues during the period.
Golestan is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located south of the Caspian Sea and borders Turkmenistan. Its capital is Gorgan.
A total of 267,000 tons of commodities worth $112 million were exported from Golestan’s border crossings in the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), showing a decline of 25% and 19% in weight and value respectively compared with the year before.
The official noted that imports through Golestan border crossings reached 12,000 tons worth $28.59 million in the fiscal 2020-21, registering a 75% and 60% decline in volume and value respectively.
“The imports mostly came from Turkey, China, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Denmark, Spain and Germany and included production line machinery, diesel generators, fabric, apparel and raw soybean oil,” he added.
Hosseini announced that Golestan’s customs revenues amounted to 217 billion rials ($900,000) during the period under review.
Iran last month started cement exports to Central Asian countries, particularly Turkmenistan, by sending three 68-ton cargo wagons.
Prior to this, provincial businessmen had to forward this product by trucks to Inche-Borun Train Station near Gonbad-e Kavous city, from where it was dispatched to Central Asian countries.
