A total of 1.51 million tons of goods were imported through the ports of Iran’s northern Mazandaran Province in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21), according to a local official.
“Corn, barley, wheat and different kinds of edible oil were the main goods imported during the period,” Mohammad Bakeri was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
He added that 738,000 tons were exported from the ports during the same period, registering a 10% year-on-year rise.
Cement, minerals and dairy products were the main exported products.
According to the official, 182,000 tons of foreign goods were also transited through the ports during the period, registering a 9.1% rise.
Amirabad Port had the highest share of the transit volume.
Mazandaran has three ports, namely Amirabad, Noshahr and Fereydounkenar, with the first being the most active in the region.
Amirabad is the largest port facility on the Caspian shore and the third largest in Iran.
The total commercial capacity of Mazandaran’s ports stands at 13 million tons, of which Amirabad accounts for 7.5 million tons, Noshahr 4.5 million tons and Fereydounkenar 1 million tons.
According to Director General of Amirabad Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Ali Asl-Saeedipour, its location along the International North-South Transportation Corridor makes transportation through Amirabad Port safe, attractive, cost-effective and much faster than alternative routes.
Non-Oil Exports
A total of $170 million worth of goods were exported from Mazandaran during the eight-month period under review, registering a 50% rise compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to another local official.
“Non-oil products, including dairy products, citrus fruit, knowledge-based products and disposable kitchenware, were the main products exported during the period,” Rahim Bakhshi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iraq, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Turkey, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Romania, Afghanistan and India were the main destinations.
The official noted that Mazandaran’s total exports stood at $179 million in the fiscal 2020-21 and increased to $278 million in the following year.
The province is a major producer and exporter of citrus fruit.
“At present, there are 500 sorting units with a capacity of 250,000 tons of citrus fruits, 119 cold storage facilities with a 473-ton capacity and 148 warehouse units with a capacity of 381 tons of such fruits in the province. This has increased exports and reduced the amount of fruit wasted every year,” Hadi Izadi, a local official, has been quoted as saying by IRNA.
Mazandaran’s citrus fruit orchards stretch across 112,000 hectares of the province, 110,000 hectares of which currently bear fruit. Out of the total figure, close to 80,000 hectares and 30,000 hectares have undergone orange and tangerine cultivation and lemons, limes and bitter oranges are grown on the rest.
According to Hossein Negahdar, a deputy head of Mazandaran Agricultural Organization, the northern province accounts for around a quarter of Iran’s total employment in the agriculture sector.
Mazandaran Province, located along the Caspian Sea, cultivates 72 kinds of agricultural products, the annual yields of which amount to nearly 7 million tons. The province accounts for only 2.5% of Iran’s arable land, yet annually produces 7% and 11% of the country’s agricultural products in terms of weight and value respectively.
According to Hosseinali Qovanlou, a local official, food industries account for 42% of the province’s production units.
With 150,000 hectares of orchards, Mazandaran is the top producer of horticultural products in Iran.
