Railway becomes more popular for foreign trade transitions

The exportation of goods via railway has grown by 55% in the past 11 months of the current Iranian fiscal year, i.e. from March 2016.

Official reports from Iran Railway Transit Office say that during this period 10 million tons of goods have been transported via railway.

Regarding the development of Iran’s transit projects, President of the I. R. of Iran Railway Transit Committee, Hossein Ashuri, said: “We are seeking to develop transit between India and Russia via the north-south pathway, attracting cargo from the Persian Gulf to the Black Sea via Iran-Republic of Azerbaijan-Georgia and attracting Iraqi oil products. He added that in two weeks’ time, a trilateral meeting with Russia and Azerbaijan will be held in order to revise tariffs and shorten the time of transit.”

The exported goods most commonly transported by rail were cement, iron ore, coal and tiles. The largest share was for cement which was exported to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Turkey.

Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were the sources of the highest amount of transportation. Major importations included wheat, zinc ore, cotton, sulfate, press cake and barley.

Iran Customs Office announced the most active border crossing for transit of goods to be Sarakhs, Bandar Abbas, Razi, Incheh Borun, Jolfa and Mirjaveh.

In the latest reports from Customs Office for the 10-month period this year, non-oil exports reached $35.3b which shows an 8.4% growth compared to a similar timeframe, last year.