TEHRAN- The exports from Iran’s western Kordestan Province stood at 685,793 tons worth $258.48 million during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-April 20), the director-general of the province’s customs department announced.

Bakhtiar Rahmanipour told IRNA that the two-month exports from the province have risen 69 percent in weight and 13 percent in value, compared to the same period of time in the past year.

The official said that 78,792 tons of goods worth $24.608 million were exported through Siranband customs with an eight percent rise in weight and 14 percent growth in value.

He added that exports from Sanandaj (the center of the province) stood at 4,147 tons worth $324,467 with 36 percent growth in weight.

Rahmanipour went on to say that 433,727 tons of goods worth $145.535 million were exported through the Bashmaq border which experienced a 109 percent rise in weight and 27 percent growth in value.

Last week, the Bashmaq border market between Iran and Iraq’s Kurdistan region resumed working after several weeks.

As announced by Khaled Jafari, the deputy governor-general of Kordestan Province, delegations from both sides had met in the western Iranian city of Marivan and decided to open the border market observing the health protocols.

The trucks have to pass sanitizing tunnels at both sides of the border, the official noted.

According to the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), the value of Iran’s non-oil trade during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year stood at $9.341 billion.

In the mentioned period Iran imported $5.041 billion worth of goods while exporting $4.3 billion.

The volume of traded goods was estimated at 21 million tons, of which 14.5 million tons were related to exports and about 6.5 million tons were imported goods.

Iran's top five non-oil export destinations during this period were China with $1.19 billion worth of exports, Iraq with $1.107 billion, the UAE with $682 million, and Afghanistan with $341 million as well as Turkey with $144 million, so the country’s top five export destinations remained the same in comparison to previous months.

As reported, China accounted for over 27 percent of Iran’s total exports, followed by Iraq, UAE, Afghanistan and Turkey with 25 percent, 15 percent, 8 percent, and four percent respectively.

The top five sources of imports during this period were China with $1.234 billion, the UAE with $1.78 billion, Turkey with $535 million, Russia with $356 million and India with $335 million worth of imports.

MA/MA