The volume of trade between Iran and Iraq hit $9 billion in the past Iranian calendar year to March 21 showing a roughly 20% increase in comparison to that of the preceding year, according to a person with the knowledge of the matter.
The two neighboring countries still intend to give a boost to economic trade, Yahya Al-Eshaq, the chairman of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, told IRNA on Friday.
Al-Eshaq had said in mid-December that the volume of trade between Iran and Iraq was expected to hit $10 billion by the yearend.
Vice President of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Hossein Selahvarzi said in late January that the ICCIMA has prioritized the identification and removal of problems on the way of expansion of trade with neighboring Iraq.
Iraq is Iran’s number two trade partner following China and both the Iranian state and private sectors have made efforts over the past years to identify and remove problems impeding bilateral trade, he said.
He also added that Iraq used to be Iran’s first trade partner but it conceded the number one place in trade with Iran to China due to some problems on the way of interactions.
Authorities of both Iran and Iraq have a target plan for increasing the volume of trade to $20 billion.