TEHRAN - Director General of Ilam province’s customs office Ruhollah Gholami has announced the export of 207,000 tons of various agricultural products (summer crops) worth $63 million via the Mehran border crossing to Iraq.
Gholami said the products have been exported from the beginning of the year to December 21.
He added that $758 million worth of goods were also exported to Iraq in the last 9 months via the Mehran border crossing to Iraq.
Gholami noted that the figures show a 133 percent growth weight-wise and a 120 percent rise in terms of value in dollar compared to last year.
Gholami said the most important export data-x-items during that period included construction materials, fruits and vegetables, plastic products, glass and cups, home appliances and metal products.
Referring to the total export of goods from the Mehran border last year, the director general of Ilam customs office emphasized that during the period, 1,542 transit consignments of goods worth $553 million were exported from the crossing to Iraq.
He added that currently, the traffic of export trucks to the border of Mehran is in progress and exports are going on without any interruption or problem.
On Wednesday, chairman of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya Ale-Es’haq said that neighboring Iraq’s debt to Iran stands at between 5 to 7 billion dollars, and that there is no obstacle in Baghdad’s debt clearance process, despite certain claims to the contrary.
Speaking at a business forum, he said “The country’s private sector continued collecting the amount of money for its services and industrial projects in Iraq via “bureaus de change and other channels.”
That process may have additional costs for Iran, but claims that the debt might not stand are false, he added.
Most of Iraq’s debt to Iran, however, is related to the two governments, not the private sector, according to the official.
He put the current value of exchanges between the two countries at about $13-$14 billion annually and said the country planned to boost its trade with the western neighbor to $20 billion.
“Under the current conditions facing Iraq’s economy, businessmen and economic activists as well as large, medium and small firms can have a share in the Iraqi market in any field they can, ranging from technical and engineering services to the provision of basic needs,” he added.