Land Border Crossing With Turkey Reopens

EghtesadOnline: Bazargan border crossing, located in northwest Iran, has reopened following negotiations among Iranian and Turkish officials.

News ID: ۷۴۹۹۹۳

07 May 2020

Bazargan is the capital city of Bazargan District in Maku County, West Azarbaijan Province. It is the most important Iranian land border checkpoint for importing and exporting from and to Turkey.

According to Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi, 60 Iranian trucks per day have been allowed to transfer goods to Turkey from Iran as per new agreements reached on May 5, IRNA reported.

West Azarbaijan local customs official, Tohid Azarbod, said last month that amid the coronavirus outbreak, customs activities have shifted from a number of closed border crossings to the northwestern province.

West Azarbaijan borders Turkey as well as Iraq and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

"Tamarchin [bordering the Iraqi Kurdistan] is now open 24 hours a day. The crossings through Tamarchin border terminal was at an -time high on April 2, with 600 trucks. A total of 9,741 trucks headed to Iraq over the past month,” he was quoted as saying by ILNA.

Razi border-crossing is Iran’s sole rail connection with Turkey. Prior to the opening of Bazargan, all trades were carried out via this gate.

A total of 18,000 tons of goods worth more than $41 million were exported from Razi border crossing in West Azarbaijan’s Khoy County via 813 cargo wagons during the first months of the current Iranian year (March 20-April 19), showing a sevenfold and 20-fold rise in tonnage and value respectively compared with the similar period of last year, according to the manager of Razi Rail Customs Administration, Seifollah Rasi.

The main exported items were polyethylene, urea, copper ingots and watermelons.

Some 30,000 tons of goods worth around $40 million were transited through Razi border via 1,400 freight wagons over the same period, registering a 2.5-fold increase in weight year-on-year.

Rasi added that since the virus outbreak about two months ago, the border crossing has been working round the clock.

Iran’s trade with Turkey stood at $645.44 million during the first three months of 2020 to register a decrease of 70.03% compared to bilateral exchanges in the corresponding period of the year before, data released by Turkish Statistical Institute show.

Iran exported $269.64 million worth of goods to Turkey in January, February and March, indicating an 82.87% decline year-on-year.

Imports stood at $375.79 million, down 35.14% YOY.

Iran was Turkey’s 31st biggest trading partner during the period under review. More specifically, Iran was the 26th biggest export destination and the 39th biggest exporter of goods to the country during the three months.

Data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration on Iran's non-crude oil trade show liquefied natural gas, non-alloy zinc, aluminum, urea and bitumen were Iran’s main goods exported to Turkey, while Turkey exported mainly cooking bananas, tobacco and fiber during the fiscal 2018-19.