Tehran, Iran, Nov. 10
By Milad Fashtami - Trend:
Iran exported over 1.56 million metric tons of goods worth $647.56 million to Iraq via the Mehran border, located in the west of the country, in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21 - September 22).
Khalil Heydari, the Head of Ilam Province's Customs Administration, said that the figure shows 20 and 9 percent increase in terms of value and weight, respectively, compared to same period previous year, Iran's IRNA News Agency reported on Nov. 10.
"Metal products, glass products, vegetables and fruits, and construction materials were the main exported items," he said.
"Over 287 metric tons of goods worth $182,276 were also imported to the country via Mehran border in the first seven months of the current year," Heydari said.
The Secretary General of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi said on Sept. 24 that the Export Guarantee Fund of Iran has opened a $300 million line of credit for exports to Iraq, Iran's Mehr News Agency reported.
He went on to note that the Iranian government seeks to prevent exporting low-quality goods to neighboring Iraq.
"Iran exported $2.2 billion worth of goods to Iraq in the first five months of the current calendar year (March 21 - August 23)," he said.
"Adding energy and electricity exports and tourist exchanges, Iran's total exports to Iraq in the mentioned period reaches $5.5 billion," he added.
Sanjabi went on to note that Iran's exports to Iraq has decreased compared to previous year, but the country has managed to expand its share of the Iraqi market due to lack of presence of Turkish firms.
"Iraq was always the fourth or fifth greatest trade partner of Iran, but security problems in the Arab country has increased the two country's trade, so Iraq is now Iran's second trade partner," he added.
Iran plans to hold a conference on trade opportunities for Iranian and Iraqi businesspersons in capital Tehran in late December.
The two-day event aims at finding possible ways to boost Iranian goods' exports to Iraq, Iran's IRIB News Agency reported on Sept. 24.
The event will be held on December 27-28 at Shahid Beheshti University.