BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 27
By Elnur Baghishov – Trend:
The number of trucks which passed through the Bazargan checkpoint on Iran's border with Turkey (called Gurbulak in Turkey) was 54,500 since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2020) to September 26, Head of the Bazargan customs checkpoint, Jaber Akbarzadeh, told IRNA, Trend reports.
According to Akbarzadeh, due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, an average of 376 trucks pass through Bazargan customs checkpoint daily on the basis of health protocols.
"During the reporting period, 30,600 trucks left Iran, which is a 54 percent decrease compared to the same period last Iranian year," he added.
The official noted that 23,900 trucks entered Iran over the same period. However, this figure was 85,300 in the same period last Iranian year.
"The exported goods via trucks in the current Iranian year were mainly agricultural, petrochemical and metal products, and were exported to European countries," he said.
Akbarzadeh stressed while the imported products were mainly various manufacturing equipment, MDF, bananas, paint, various fabrics and spare parts.
Iran continues to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country. According to recent reports from the Iranian officials, over 443,000 people have been infected, and 25,394 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 372,000 have reportedly recovered from the disease.
The country continues to apply strict measures to contain 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.
Due to the spread of the coronavirus in Iran, customs activities have been restricted with a number of countries. The activities of Iran's Bazargan customs checkpoint has been restored since June 4.