TEHRAN (Mehr News Agency) – Iran exported about 4 million tons of various oil and non-oil commodities as well as swaps during the past seven months of the current Iranian year (ending March 20,2004).

General Director of IT Office in National Organization of Terminals Hojjatollah Behrouz said that the transited volume included 1.9 million tons of non-oil commodities and 450,000 tons of oil products. “In addition, 1.6 million tons of oil products have been exchanged in swaps,” he added.

Road transportation comprised 44 percent of the totality while 16 percent have been transited via railroads. The largest part of the import trade was reported in Bandar Abbas and Sarakhs (42%, 25% respectively), Behrouz added. Meanwhile, the UAE attributed the highest rate among goods exporters to Iran (41%) while Afghanistan imported most of Iran’s transited commodities (24%).

“About 670,000 tons of goods were exchanged via Road transport,” he added, saying that it shows 18 percent growth compared with the latest figures.

During the period, Bazargan border station was reported to have transited most of the imported commodities (52%). Incheh-Boron and Astara stood next, comprising 16 and 14 percent respectively. Altogether, Turkmenistan and Turkey were two major exporters that have their products bartered via road stations.

Iran exported various commodities through road transit, most of which were sent to Azerbaijan and Afghanistan, Behrouz stated. “Astara, Dugharun, and Bazargan have been the busiest road export stations in the period,” he added.

He also said that some 200 thousand passengers have entered Iran since the beginning of the current Iranian year, and approximately the same number was conveyed out of the country. Reports say that, during the past seven months of the year, 1200 passengers were transited from the border stations, largely reported from Bazargan and Sarv.

Meanwhile, Public Relations Office of Iran’s Ports and Shipping Organization announced on Wednesday that during the past eight months of the current Iranian year (ending March 20, 2004), some 3.5 million tons of commodities were bartered in Mazandaran ports including Neka, Noshahr, and Amirabad.

The amount corroborates 107 percent growth in comparison with the corresponding period last year. It includes oil and non-oil imports, oil products transit, as well as exports. According to the report, 946 commercial ships and oil tankers have been utilized to transport the volume.

Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan are the main trade partners of the northern province. Recently, Mazandaran ports have recorded much higher rates of oil transit than other Iranian ports. Neka port, for instance, transited about 1.9 million tons of oil products in the past eight months of the year, which shows a remarkable 124 percent increase compared with the latest figure.