TEHRAN, Iran, May 25
Trend:
Iran-Tajikistan trade relations have been effected by the coronavirus spread and closure of borders, Head of Iran and Tajikistan Chamber of Commerce Mohammad Hossein Roshanak told Trend.
"Iran usually exports food items, detergents and construction materials to Tajikistan, while not importing too much from this country. For example, cotton," he said.
He added that the border closure is the reason for Iran's trade with Central Asian countries being crippled as of the moment.
"Import of cotton is currently banned from Afghanistan, while cotton import from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan should be transported to Iran via Afghanistan since other borders are closed," he said.
"The imported cotton cargos from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are now held behind Afghan border due to the ban in Afghanistan," he said.
"Import of cotton has been banned in Afghanistan due to protection protocol of domestic production in this country and trucks that carry cotton from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan have been kept on the border for 40 days," he added.
"The transit cargo from Afghanistan is also banned, while import goods can be disinfected at the border and be transferred to Iran," he said.
Iran's trade ties with some of its neighbors in the North and East have been stopped due to coronavirus spread in the country and closure of borders. Iran's government is in talks to launch special health protocols on borders to resume trade.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 135,000 people have been infected 7,417 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 105,000 have reportedly recovered from the disease.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease.
The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19.
The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019.
The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.