Exports from Iran’s southern Bushehr Province, excluding crude oil and gas condensate shipments, stood at 7.4 million tons worth $2.8 billion during the first three months of the current Iranian year (March 21-June 21), registering a 1% and 28% year-on-year decline in terms of weight and value respectively, according to Ali Soleimani, a local customs official.
Besides gas condensate, the exports included petrochemical products, cement, clinker and vegetables.
China, the UAE, India, Turkey, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and South Africa were the main export destinations during the period, IRIB News reported.
The official noted that 25% of Iran’s total exports are shipped from customs terminals in Bushehr, saying the province had the biggest share of all shipments from the country in Q1.
A total of 122,000 tons of goods worth $421 million were imported to the province during the same period, registering a 25% and 12% decline in weight and value respectively.
LED modules, components for bicycles and motorcycles, fabrics, car components and spare parts, roller bearings, used cranes, bananas, tea, industrial radiators and related parts, and different kinds of speakers were the main items imported during the period.
The main exporters to the province were the UAE, China, Philippines, India, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Japan and Germany.
Bushehr’s customs revenues amounted to 24.67 trillion rials ($50.11 million) during the period, registering a 310% rise.
Bushehr Province has a 937-kilometer coastline alongside the Persian Gulf. The namesake port, which is the main dock in the province, has the capacity to handle more than 7 million tons of goods per year and can host vessels weighing over 30,000 tons.
The port is capable of offering services for bulk, containerized, general and petrochemical cargos, refrigerated products, raw materials, storage and processing of various commodities and passengers, according to the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran.
Bushehr exported 583,000 tons of goods worth $81 million to Qatar in the last Iranian year (March 2022-23), Soleimani said earlier.
The exports included 195 types of goods, of which 70% of the weight and 25% of the value belonged to mining and mineral products.
Tomato with $17 million and farmed shrimp with $8 million were the main products exported from Bushehr to Qatar during the period, IRNA reported.
They were followed by watermelon and melon, cement and clinker, fresh vegetables, glass and construction stones.
“Since the beginning of the fiscal 2017-18, due to the problems in Qatar's relations with other Arab countries and because of the proximity of Bushehr’s ports to those of Qatar, the export of food products from the province to the neighboring country registered a significant growth,” he said.
The province’s total exports in the last Iranian year (ended March 20, 2023) stood at 27.38 million tons worth $13.31 billion.
