More than 2.35 million tons of goods worth $1.09 billion were exported from Iran to Iraq through the Mehran Border Terminal in the western Ilam Province during the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Nov. 21), registering an 84% and 72% rise in weight and value respectively compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to a local customs official.
“Ilam Province accounted for 23% of Iran’s total exports to Iraq during the period,” Rouhollah Gholami was also quoted as saying by IRIB News.
Fruit and vegetable, plastic, industrial and metal products, construction materials, glass and sheet glass, and home appliances were the main exports.
Located 230 km from Baghdad, Mehran is Iran’s closest border city to the Iraqi capital.
Iran exported $4.02 billion worth of goods to Iraq during the period, registering a 26.5% fall compared with the corresponding period of last year, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“Ceramic products, dairy products and light oils were the main exported products,” Morteza Emadi added.
Hamid Hosseini, a board member of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, says the decline experienced in Iran’s exports to Iraq is due to several factors, including the change of government in the neighboring country, Arbaeen commemorations that caused a temporary suspension in trade and the abolition of subsidized imports in Iran.
“We have tried hard over the years to find a foothold in the Iraqi market. At present, two other countries that are extensively active in Iraq are China and Turkey, but the products each of these countries offer do not overlap. Turkey mainly exports gold, plastic, and apparel to Iraq, while China sells electronic devices, home appliances and turbines. We are not prominent exporters in any of these goods, so there is no competition there,” Hosseini said.
Iraq is one of the main destinations for Iran’s agricultural and food products as well as mineral and mining industries’ exports.
The Iranian government put an end to years of paying massive subsidies to import essential goods in May.
