Iran’s Trade Revenues from Exports to Pakistan Increasing

The Customs Department in Iran’s Southeastern port city of Chabahar announced that the office has witnessed a 38% rise in its collections in the first 3 months of the current local calendar year (March 21- June 21), compared with the corresponding period in 2018.

Head of Chabahar’s Main Customs Office Majid Mazloumi said on Saturday that his office received revenues worth 712 billion rials (about $5.7 million) during the first 3 months of the current local calendar year, up 38% compared to the same period of last year.

He added that Iran exported some 43,500 tons of goods worth $40 million to Pakistan through Pishin border in the same period.

Mazloumi said the exports through the border crossing included bitumen, cement, ceramic and dairy products.

The border crossing, located in Pishin town, Sarbaz county od Sistan and Baluchistan province, was launched in 2017, in a bid to boost trade between Iran and Pakistan.

Pakistan was Iran’s eighth export destination then.

According to Mazloomi, "During the last three months, 360,000 tons of goods worth $388 million have been imported through the Chabahar customs and the Free Trade Zone.”

He noted that imported products increased by 103% in terms of weight and by 90% in terms of value.

Rice, corn, sugar, animals and car spare parts were mainly imported through the Sistan and Baluchistan borders during the period, he added.

On Thursday, Pakistan’s Adviser to Prime Minister on Commerce, Textile, Industries and Production Abdul Razak Dawood, in a meeting with a delegation of Pakistan's Rice Exporters Association, urged his country's rice exporters to benefit from Iran’s market.

During the meeting, Dawood vowed to increase rice exports from the current $2 billion to $5 billion in upcoming five years.

Last week, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mining and Trade Reza Rahmani during his visit to Pakistan expressed keen interest in importing 500,000 tons of rice from Pakistan.

The minister also led the Iranian delegation at 8th Joint Trade Committee (JTC) two-day meeting in Islamabad.

The two countries had also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote bilateral trade and investment between the two countries.

On Saturday, Rahmani said, after his visit to Pakistan, that Islamabad is enthusiastic about developing economic, bilateral, and commercial ties with Tehran.

Last month, Dawood said that his country is willing to enhance trade and economic cooperation with Iran, despite the United States' unilateral sanctions.