Iran’s import of basic commodities in the current Iranian year –a period of around 7 weeks- via the southeastern port city of Chabahar has risen by more than 15 times compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, an official said.
Director general of the Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization of Iran in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan said seven cargo ships carrying basic commodities have docked at the Chabahar port since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20).
The arrivals during the 7-week period in the port were 421,298 tons of basic commodities, compared with only 27,500 tons a year earlier, which had been freighted with a single cargo ship, Ayyoub Kord said.
The official said the number of cargo ships berthing at Chabahar and the volume of basic commodities unloaded in the Iranian port have risen 7 and 15 times, respectively.
He also noted that the main basic commodities imported via the Chabahar port are sugar, rice, wheat and corn.
Kord further emphasized that the shipment of goods from Chabahar and the land transit in the province of Sistan and Balouchestan are being carried out uninterruptedly despite the adverse effects of the coronavirus outbreak on the transportation industry.
In comments in March, the deputy director of the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran in the southeastern province of Sistan and Balouchestan said the export of mineral products from the port city of Chabahar rose constantly in the Iranian year 1398, which ended on March 19.
Hossein Shahdadi also noted that shipments of mineral products, construction materials, agricultural products, and bitumen had been exported from Chabahar for the first time last year.
He also highlighted the advantages of Chabahar, saying the Iranian port city is equipped with strategic loading and unloading equipment, offers special discounts on customs duty and port charges, and provides regular shipping routes for various destinations.
