TEHRAN- Iran has imported four million tons of basic goods during the first ten months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020-January 19, 2021), according to the deputy managing director of Government Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC).

Amir Talebi said that 194 ships carrying basic goods have been docked and unloaded in Iranian ports during the 10-month period to supply the country’s strategic reserves.

These goods have been imported to the country from the southern and northern ports, and the share of Imam Khomeini Port is more than other ports, the official stated.

“The process of importing the basic goods, from order registration, purchase, transportation, unloading, loading and warehousing to regulating the market and providing the strategic reserves has been done in the difficult condition of sanctions and the outbreak of coronavirus, and we are in good condition in terms of the strategic reserves”, he pointed out.

In early October 2020, the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) announced that $5.267 billion was supplied for importing basic commodities in the first half of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-September 21, 2020).

Iran imported 25 million tons of basic goods during the previous Iranian calendar year, based on the data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA).

According to the IRICA Head Mehdi Mirashrafi, 35 million tons of commodities were imported into the country in the mentioned year, of which 25 million tons were basic goods.

“This year, the trend [of trade] has slowed down, and we hope that with the measures taken by the central bank, Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry, and IRICA, we will be able to minimize the deposition of goods in the customs before and after clearance”, Mirashrafi said in last June.

Source: https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/457336/4m-tons-of-basic-commodities-imported-in-10-months