Iran exported about 38,000 tons of non-oil goods valued at $66 million to Syria during the first four months of the current Iranian year (March 21-July 21) to register a 36% rise in value but a 26% decline in tonnage compared with last year’s corresponding period, says director general of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran’s Arab-African Affairs Office.
Speaking in an interview with Fars News Agency on Saturday, Farzad Piltan added that Iran is the seventh biggest exporter to Syria and accounts for only 3% of the Syrian market’s export share.
Iran-Syria Chamber of Commerce, affiliated with Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, sent business delegations to Damascus for holding talks on exporting Iranian cement to Syria.
The delegation held B2B meetings with their Syrian counterparts and took part in an international conference in Damascus, ICCIMA reported on its news portal.
The Iranian delegations included cement producers and suppliers of raw materials and reconstruction services of cement production line.
Iran has offered to help Syria rebuild its war-torn areas after years of conflict.
Tehran and Damascus have a free trade agreement in place which, according to Piltan, can have a significant effect on easing trade between the two sides.
“Syria’s high demand for agricultural products, foodstuff, home appliances, pharmaceuticals, construction material, sanitary ware, agro machinery and equipment, and Iran’s capabilities in these areas, coupled with reasonable prices and high-quality, can help boost commercial interactions between the two sides,” he added.
Syria and Iran concluded a free trade agreement in February 2012, which included reducing customs duties to 4% on goods traded between the two countries, cancelling all quantitative restrictions, and lifting the ban on imports.
The agreement came into force on March 12, 2012, and included an agreement to allow commercial trucks to pass between the two countries through Iraq.
Iran was ranked the world’s seventh biggest producer of cement in 2020 by the United States Geological Survey, with an output of 60 million tons.
The ranking is unchanged compared with 2019.
The country's cement production capacity is 85 million tons, of which 65 million tons are consumed domestically.
