Khuzestan Non-Oil Exports Top 15 Million Tons

Non-oil exports from the southwestern Khuzestan Province during the first 10 months of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2017) stood at 15.4 million tons worth 197.7 trillion rials ($5.89 billion), registering a 10% and 23% growth in weight and value respectively year-on-year.

“Khuzestan ranked second and third in the value and volume of exports among Iranian provinces during the 10-month period,” Mohammad Reza Jafari, an official with Khuzestan Customs Administration, was quoted as saying by the Persian daily Donya-e-Eqtesad. 

The main exported commodities included chemical and petrochemical products, steel and iron ore, fruit and vegetable, butane gas, clinker, dairy and construction material, which mostly headed to the UAE, China, Iraq, Singapore, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Taiwan and Kenya.

Close to 12.9 million tons of goods worth more than 206 trillion rials (over $6.16 billion) were imported into the province during the same period under review, showing a 2% and 17% growth in weight and value respectively year-on-year.

According to Jafari, Khuzestan ranked third and first in the value and volume of imports respectively among Iranian provinces during the period. 

The imports mainly included field corn and barley, soybean and soybean meal, sunflower seed oil, rice and textile, which were shipped mainly from Brazil, China, Ukraine, Argentina, the UAE, Malaysia, Germany, South Korea, the Netherlands and India.

“The province earned around 29 trillion rials (more than $61.16 million) in customs revenues during the period,” he said.

Khuzestan is one of Iran’s 31 provinces bordering Iraq and the Persian Gulf. Its capital is Ahvaz and covers an area of 63,238 square kilometers. Other major cities include Abadan and Khorramshahr.

Khuzestan is a major oil-producing region of Iran.

About 80% of Iran’s imports of basic commodities are carried out via Khuzestan’s Imam Khomeini Port. 

“Imam Khomeini Port and Hormozgan Province’s Shahid Rajaee Port account for 80% of the total throughput of Iranian ports, which is 140 million tons per year,” Managing Director of Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Saeednejad said.