Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 20 / Trend, A.Yusifzade /
Over 7.5 million tons of goods worth $23 billion have been transited via Iran in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 to December 21), FNA reported quoting the head of Iran's Customs Administration Abas Memarnejad as saying.
The managing director of Trade Promotion Organization of Iran Hamid Safdel said that the amount of goods transferred through Iran to other countries increased 38 percent in the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 to November 21).
"About seven million tons of goods were transited via Iran in the said time span, marking a 53 percent growth in terms of weight compared to the corresponding period of the last year," IRNA quoted Safdel as saying.
He went on to say that the transit of goods via Iran has been increasing during the past few years, noting that about seven million tons of goods worth $24.6 billion were transited abroad in 2009, which indicates an increase of 19 and 28 percent in terms of weight and value compared to 2008.
Iranian Deputy Minister of Road and Transportation Shahriar Afandizade predicted that the total volume of both oil and non-oil products transported by road and rail "would reach approximately 10 million tons this year (ending March 20, 2011)", exceeding 7 million tons of goods transferred last year.
The Iranian official also expounded on high potentials for the country's progress in the areas of export and import, noting that using these capabilities will play a significant role in creating jobs and bringing about more national wealth for the Iranian nation.
"Iran's geographical advantage due to its accessibility to transit corridors of north-south and west-east has provided the country with the best chance to transit goods to Central Asian, European and African countries as well as Russia," Afandizade noted.
Azerbaijan, China, Uzbekistan, Turkey Afghanistan, Iraq, and UAE are among top destinations for transit of goods via the Islamic Republic.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Iran is the third country in the Middle East and Central Asia in terms of export and import.
In its report themed 'Regional Economic Outlook: Middle East and Central Asia,' the IMF said that Iran's exports of goods and services in 2010 would amount to $95 billion.
This figure marks a $7.9 billion increase compared to the same period last year. It forecasts that in 2011 the volume of Iran's goods and services exports will increase to $98 billion.
According to a report by the IRI Customs Administration, Iran's non-oil exports, including gas condensates, were valued at $22.483 billion during the first 9 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March-December, 2010), showing 21.59 percent over the same period last year.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has exported above $22 billion of various non-oil products during the last 9 months.
The exports were weighted 50.63 million tons increasing 26.59 percent compared to the same period last year.
Iran's non-oil exports excluding gas condensates were valued at $19.143 billion weighting 45.45 million tons.
During the same period, Iran has imported $47.70 billion of various products. The imports were weighted 33.864 million tons which is 3 percent more than last year.
China had the largest share of the imports of 18 percent. Iraq imported 17 percent and UAE 13 percent.
Gold was the main item imported into the country covering 10 percent of the imports.
The UAE exported 32 percent of the goods imported in Iran and was the main exporter to the Islamic Republic.
China and Germany respectively stood second and third exporters to Iran with a share of 8.5 and 7 percent respectively.