The monthly volume of foreign freight transit through Iran has registered a record.
According to Rouhollah Latifi, spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, a total of 1.15 million tons of foreign goods were transited through Iran during the eighth month of the current fiscal year (Oct. 23-Nov. 21), IRNA reported.
Noting that the volume of foreign freight transit hit 8.1 million tons during the eight months to Nov. 21 (since the beginning of the current Iranian year), the official said the figure stood at 7.5 million tons in both the fiscal 2019-20 and 2020-21.
According to Mehdi Misashrafi, the head of IRICA, the 8.1 million-ton figure shows an 80% year-on-year rise.
Iran earns $200 from each ton of transit goods, according to the secretary of the High Council of Free Trade and Special Economic Zones.
“Every year, more than 1 billion tons of commodities are transited through the Suez Canal. By attracting 5% of this volume to transit through our borders, the revenues can be considerable,” Hamidreza Momeni was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Transit via Iranian border crossings and foreign truck commutes have increased to the levels recorded before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the director general of the Transit and International Transport Bureau of the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization.
“After the coronavirus spread across the region, our surrounding countries closed their borders to Iranian transit trucks. Later, regulations were loosened, yet commutes were still restricted and controlled. This resulted in a drastic fall in the country’s transit activities,” Javad Hedayati was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
At present, truck commutes from Iran’s 24 border crossings are back to pre-Covid days.
A total of 7.53 million tons of commodities were transited through Iran during the last Iranian year (March 2020-21), showing a 0.89% decline compared with the year before, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
Iran’s top 10 busiest transit borders were Shahid Rajaee Special Economic Zone in the southern Hormozgan Province with more than 3,3 million tons, Bazargan in West Azarbaijan Province with 703,000 tons, Bashmaq in Kurdestan Province with 687,000 tons, Sarakhs in Khorasan Razavi Province with 457,000 tons, Imam Khomeini Port checkpoint in Khuzestan Province with 447,000 tons, Bileh Savar in Ardabil Province with 337,000 tons, Jolfa in East Azarbaijan Province 312,000 tons, Razi in East Azarbaijan Province with 188,000 tons, Astara in Gilan Province with 156,000 tons and Bandar Lengeh in Hormozgan province with 139,000 tons.
Hedayati said these 10 border crossings accounted for 89% of Iran’s overall transit during the period under review.
With 12 wharfs, Shahid Rajaee is Iran’s biggest container port, accounting for 90% of the country’s total container throughput.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee, which is located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province.