Exports to Afghanistan Resume Despite Coronavirus

EghtesadOnline: A total of 80,072 tons of goods were exported from Milak border terminal in the southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan Province to the neighboring Afghanistan during the first month of the current Iranian year (March 20-April 19), according to the deputy head of the province’s Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization.

News ID: ۷۵۰۰۲۹

13 May 2020

“The main exported products over the one-month period were cement, vegetables, gasoline and different kinds of foodstuff,” Teymour Baqeri was also quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.

Despite the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in Iran and the region, said the official, it is business as usual at Milak, amid strict observance of health protocols.

“Iran's other crossings linking to Afghanistan, Mahiroud and Dogharoun, have also opened for trade,” Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi said.

Mohammad Mehdi Javanmard-Qassab, the head of Iran-Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce, said last month that the issuance of visa for Afghan traders and truck drivers to enter Iran, which had faced a gap after the coronavirus outbreak in the country, is now back to normal, Mehr News Agency reported.

“Afghan traders can obtain business visa provided they travel to Iran by air and carry documented proof that they are not infected with Covid-19,” he said, adding that truck drivers will only need to submit proof of their being virus-free.

With imports worth $125 million, Afghanistan accounted for 7.5% of Iran’s total exports during the first month of the current Iranian year, the Persian-language daily Donya-e-Eqtesad reported, citing IRICA data.