TEHRAN – Some 240,182 tons of commodities worth $330.867 million have been imported into Iran through Bazargan border crossing since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020), according to the Bazargan customs director-general.

The value and volume of imports have decreased by 38 percent and 44 percent, respectively, compared to the same period in the previous year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Mojtaba Bazgir told IRNA on Saturday.

According to Bazgir, industrial machinery, iron or steel products, aluminum, automobiles, paint, and composite extracts, steel structures, adhesives, welding metals, ash, rubber, and rubber products, as well as textile and fabric were among the top commodity items entering the country through the mentioned crossing.

Located in West Azarbaijan Province, Bazargan is one of the three border crossings between Iran and Turkey; this border, which is Iran's gateway to European countries, is located at Bazargan District in Maku County.

It is the most important Iranian ground border for importing and exporting.

In late February 2020, the border crossing was closed due to the outbreak of the coronavirus; it resumed operation after a three-month hiatus.

Iran sees trade with Turkey as key in efforts to confront the U.S. sanctions that have sought to undermine Tehran’s oil exports. Petrochemical products account for a major share of Iran’s exports to Turkey although the U.S. bans have made it difficult to settle payments between businesses in the two countries.

Turkey also relies on Iran as a major market for its manufacturing goods, including industrial machinery and garment, while it also sends to Iran some sizable shipments of crops and fruits that are not cultivated in the country.

Iran has traded 122.8 million tons of non-oil commodities worth $58.7 billion in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020-January 19, 2021), according to the Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi.

EF/MA