The monthly volume of foreign freight transit through Iran has registered a record.
According to Rouhollah Latifi, spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, a total of 1.15 million tons of foreign goods were transited through Iran during the eighth month of the current fiscal year (Oct. 23-Nov. 21), IRNA reported.
Noting that the volume of foreign freight transit hit 8.1 million tons during the eight months to Nov. 21 (since the beginning of the current Iranian year), the official said the figure stood at 7.5 million tons in both the fiscal 2019-20 and 2020-21.
According to Mehdi Misashrafi, the head of IRICA, the 8.1 million-ton figure shows an 80% year-on-year rise.
Iran earns $200 from each ton of transit goods, according to the secretary of the High Council of Free Trade and Special Economic Zones.
“Every year, more than 1 billion tons of commodities are transited through the Suez Canal. By attracting 5% of this volume to transit through our borders, the revenues can be considerable,” Hamidreza Momeni was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Transit via Iranian border crossings and foreign truck commutes have increased to the levels recorded before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the director general of the Transit and International Transport Bureau of the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization.
“After the coronavirus spread across the region, our surrounding countries closed their borders to Iranian transit trucks. Later, regulations were loosened, yet commutes were still restricted and controlled. This resulted in a drastic fall in the country’s transit activities,” Javad Hedayati was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
At present, truck commutes from Iran’s 24 border crossings are back to pre-Covid days.
A total of 7.53 million tons of commodities were transited through Iran during the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), showing a 0.89% decline compared with the year before, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Iran’s top 10 busiest transit borders were Shahid Rajaee Special Economic Zone in the southern Hormozgan Province with more than 3,3 million tons, Bazargan in West Azarbaijan Province with 703,000 tons, Bashmaq in Kurdestan Province with 687,000 tons, Sarakhs in Khorasan Razavi Province with 457,000 tons, Imam Khomeini Port checkpoint in Khuzestan Province with 447,000 tons, Bileh Savar in Ardabil Province with 337,000 tons, Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province 312,000 tons, Razi in East Azarbaijan Province with 188,000 tons, Astara in Gilan Province with 156,000 tons and Bandar Lengeh in Hormozgan province with 139,000 tons.
Hedayati said these 10 border crossings accounted for 89% of Iran’s overall transit during the period under review.
With 12 wharfs, Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s biggest container port, accounting for 90% of the country’s total container throughput.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee, which is located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province.
Monthly Trade
A total of 11.59 million tons of goods worth 8.32 billion were traded during the month under review (Oct. 22-Nov. 21), which shows a 27% rise in terms of value compared with the corresponding period of last year, the IRICA spokesman added.
Exports stood at 8.56 million tons worth $4.03 billion, which indicates a 16% growth in terms of value year-on-year.
China with 2.44 million tons worth $1.39 billion was Iran’s biggest export destination.
Iraq with 1.9 million tons worth $640 million, Turkey with 355,000 tons worth $371 million, the UAE with 687,000 tons worth $345 million and Afghanistan with 267,000 tons worth $145 million followed.
The exported commodities included liquefied natural gas, methanol, polyethylene, steel products, liquefied propane, urea and bitumen.
During the same month, a total of 3.04 million tons of goods worth $4.29 billion were imported.
The UAE with 1.15 million tons worth $1.48 billion, China with 306,000 tons worth $1.11 billion, Turkey with 222,000 tons worth $382 million, Germany with 37,000 tons worth $168 million and Switzerland with 91,000 tons worth $73 million were the main exporters to Iran.
Cellphones with $375 million, wheat with $261 million, corn with $187 million, rice with $83 million and soybeans with $71 million were the main imported commodities.
“The past three months have set new records in trade and transit. In the month to Sept. 22, with 5.3 million tons of cleared goods, the import record was broken. In the month to Oct. 22, with $5.3 billion worth of shipments, the export record was broken. And in the month to Nov. 21, with 1.15 million tons, the transit record was broken,” Latifi said.
Eight-Month Trade
Iran traded a total of 110.3 million tons of goods (excluding crude oil) worth $63.1 billion during the current fiscal year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21), registering a 43.5% and 40% year-on-year growth in weight and value respectively, according to the IRICA chief.
Exports stood at 83.7 million tons worth $31.1 billion, 10.5% and 42% more in terms of weight and value respectively YOY, IRNA reported.
Petrochemical exports with 39.8 million tons worth $13.3 billion had the biggest share in exports, accounting for 47% of total weight and 43% of total value of exports.
China with 19.3 million tons worth $9.1 billion, Iraq with 21.6 million tons worth $6.1 billion, Turkey with 11.3 million tons worth $3.8 billion, the UAE with 7.3 million tons worth $2.9 billion and Afghanistan with 3 million tons worth $1.27 billion were the top five export destinations.
Imports stood at 26.5 million tons worth $32 billion, registering a 38% and 21% increase in weight and value respectively.
Top five exporters to Iran were the UAE with 8 million tons worth $10.1 billion, China with 2.2 million tons worth $7.2 billion, Turkey with 2.7 million tons worth $3.2 billion, Germany with 549,000 tons worth $1.2 billion and Switzerland with 1.3 million tons worth $1.1 billion, respectively.
