Non-oil exports from Gilan Province hit 704,000 tons worth $412.46 million during the current fiscal year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21), registering an 11% and 35% growth in weight and value respectively year-on-year, according to a local official.
Farhad Dalq-Poush, the head of Gilan Industries, Mining and Trade Organization, told IRNA that Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Georgia and Ukraine were the main export destinations.
The shipments included mineral, chemical and agrifood products.
Gilan is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It lies along the Caspian Sea, west of Mazandaran Province, east of Ardabil and north of Zanjan and Qazvin. It borders the Republic of Azerbaijan in the north and Russia across the Caspian Sea.
With more than 438,000 hectares of agricultural land, the northern province’s output of agronomical, horticultural, livestock and seafood products stands at 3 million tons per year.
Gilan is one of the main producers of rice, tea, hazelnut, peanuts, olive, silk cocoons, bony fish, kiwis and cottonwood.
Discount for RORO Vessels
Gilan Province is offering 80% discount on port tariffs, 60% on marine transportation fees and full exemption on storage costs to RORO vessels that dock in the harbors of this Caspian region, Gilan Ports and Maritime Organization said.
These vessels will also be prioritized when it comes to mooring, the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development reported.
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter. This is in contrast to lift-on/lift-off (LoLo) vessels, which use a crane to load and unload cargo.
Refrigerated container carrier vessels will also be prioritized in mooring and get 25% discount on tariffs, 45% on THC expenses, 48% on taxes and 9% on storage fees.
The province is home to two major ports of Astara and Anzali.
Gateway to Eurasia
According to Abolqasem Yousefinejad, a local customs official, most of Iran’s trade with Eurasian countries is carried out through Gilan Province.
In a recent meeting between Iran’s representatives from Iran-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce and the Trade Promotion Organization of Iran, it was announced that 80% of the Free Trade Agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union have been drafted r and the remaining 20% will be decided upon in the next meeting of the two sides.
According to the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, after the draft is complete, negotiations will begin to determine the commodities each side wants to be included in the FTA.
It is estimated that the procedure before the agreement is finally signed, including negotiations, reaching consensus and ratification of the FTA draft in the parliaments of the countries involved, will take at least two years, during which the current preferential trade agreement in effect will be renewed and extended.
Chairman of Iran-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce Amir Abedi said during the meeting that to become a more active part of the global trade Iran has to overcome a series of barriers.
“Our cooperation with the Eurasian bloc and an FTA agreement can be a much-needed initiative in this regard, giving us the opportunity to understand our strengths and weaknesses, capacities and capabilities,” he added.
Abedi noted that among the EEU members, Kazakhstan is strategically more significant as it is located along important transportation corridors.
Representatives of Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union will meet soon in Armenia to discuss a new agreement. This is what Deputy Foreign Minister of Armenia Armen Ghevondyan said during a recent discussion on the draft state budget for 2022 in parliament.
Ghevondyan recalled that the temporary agreement signed between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, which entered into force in 2019, expires in 2022 since it was valid for three years, News.am reported.
“We’re currently working on making the interim agreement permanent and have planned discussions in Yerevan,” he added.
In addition, the Intergovernmental Council of the Eurasian Economic Union will hold a session in mid-November in Yerevan.
Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union signed a three-year provisional agreement in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 17, 2018, for the bloc to welcome Iran into EEU. The arrangement, which lowers or abolishes customs duties, is the first step toward implementing free trade between Iran and the five members of the union.
“There are still problems with export to Iran,” said Armenia’s Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan said.
According to Kerobyan, in spite of the temporary special trade agreement between Iran and the Eurasian Economic Union, based on which low customs duties apply to some goods, the Iranian side applies different types of non-tariff barriers, requiring this or that document or procedure.
“This obstructs export from not only Armenia, but also other countries of the Eurasian Economic Union,” he added.
