West Azarbaijan Province’s export consortiums have shipped €559,000 worth of goods to foreign countries over the past year, the deputy head of the province’s Industrial Parks Company said on Saturday.
“At present, West Azarbaijan has four export consortiums in the fields of honey, plant extracts, stones and orchard crops, which have been formed with the aim of expanding cooperation among export management companies, increasing B2B activities and boosting exports to neighboring countries,” Amir Shahsavar Jelavat was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official added that West Azarbaijan’s Industrial Parks Company plans to set up two other consortiums for carpets and furniture businesses in the near future.
Latest data show close to 400,000 tons of goods worth $242 million were exported from West Azarbaijan Province’s border crossings during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), showing a 38% and 35% rise in weight and value respectively compared with the similar period of last year.
“Some 253,000 tons of exports were shipped through customs terminals and the remaining 146,000 tons via border markets,” Tohid Azarbod, a local official, was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Carpet and other kinds of floorings, home appliances, tomato paste, watermelon, apple and apple juice, dates, grape, cement, granite, chlorine and furniture are West Azarbaijan’s exported products that are mainly shipped to Iraq, Turkey, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Russia, Romania, Germany and Syria.
The official added that in the same three months, a total of 133,287 tons of commodities worth $252 million were imported into the province, registering a 266% and 240$ increase in volume and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year.
West Azarbaijan’s Governor General Mohammad Mehdi Shahriyari says exports from the northwestern province has increased from $460 million in 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani first took office to some $3 billion during the last Iranian year (March 2020-21).
According to Arsalan Lashkari, director general of Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization of the province, from March to June, more than 199,000 tons of commodities were transited via the province’s checkpoints.
Currently, he added, close to 1.5 million tons of products are transited through West Azarbaijan Province, Bazargan checkpoint in particular, every year.
West Azarbaijan has three common border crossings of Sarv in Urmia, Razi in Khoy, Bazargan in Maku with the neighboring Turkey, Tamarchin in Piranshahr with Iraq and Sanam Boulaqi in Poldasht Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic respectively.
The province, located in northwest Iranian, has around 967 kilometers of borders with Iraq, Turkey and Azerbaijan Republic.
