Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 1
Trend:
Over 289,000 tons of non-oil goods, worth $129 million, were exported through customs in Iran’s northwestern city of Astara during the first five months of the current fiscal year that started March 20, Rasoul Omidi, head of Astara Customs Administration, said.
Iran’s exports via Astara registered a significant rise by 140 percent in terms of volume and 102 percent in terms of value, year-on-year, he said, IRNA news agency reported Sept. 1.
Omidi said that agriculture and food products, cement, plaster, chemicals, detergents, handicrafts, textile, shoes, bags, carpet, construction materials, mineral products, metals and plastic products were the main export items in the 5-month period (March 20 – Aug. 22).
Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia were the main destinations for the exported items, he added.
Omidi further said Iran imported about 87,000 tons of goods, worth $84 million, including chemicals, woods, machinery, electrical goods and iron products, via the Astara customs during the period from Russia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
Also 116,000 tons of goods, worth $556 million (6 percent increase), including electrical appliances, cars, furniture, machinery, medical equipment, construction materials, textile products, chemicals, glass containers and agricultural products were transited via the Astara checkpoint to Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia and Ukraine in the period, the official said, adding that over 35,000 tons of goods, worth $91 million (123 percent increase), were transited through Astara into Iran as well in the five months.
Goods including wood and oil products, cotton, synthetic fibers, iron ingots, copper, fiberglass and iron sheets were transited from Azerbaijan, Russia, Georgia and Ukraine to Turkey, Iraq and the UAE, Omidi said.
The Islamic Republic also exported 56 tons of goods, including agricultural and food products as well as plastic materials, worth $76,000, to Azerbaijan via the suitcase trade from the Astara customs during the same span of time, Omidi added.
More than 440,900 people crossed the border checkpoint in Astara in the period, he said.
He added that the passenger traffic into Azerbaijan from Iran via Astara registered 38 percent growth in the period, meanwhile the figure for passenger traffic from Azerbaijan to Iran increased by 43 percent.
Iranian Astara Customs' total income reached 311.25 billion rials (each USD makes 42,000 rials based on official rate) during the same span of time, which is 104 percent more compared to the same months of the preceding year.