“Rail and road accounted for 52% and 48% of the transportation of essential goods over the period respectively,” Hassan Nejad-Fallah was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official added that rail freight transportation is much cheaper compared to road transportation, as it reduces storage and reloading expenses.
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
A total of 25.09 million tons of essential goods worth $15.5 billion were imported into Iran during the last fiscal year (March 2019-20) to register a 20.77% and 17.13% increase in weight and value respectively, compared with the year before, according to the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, Rouhollah Latifi.
This volume of essential goods imports accounted for close to 71% and 35% of the volume and value of last year’s total imports respectively, the official was quoted as saying by ISNA.
“The imported essential commodities included wheat, sugar, corn, rubber, barley, processed tea, rice, seeds, red meat, soybeans, pulses, paper, fertilizers and industrial machinery,” he said.
A total of 5.1 million tons of commodities were transported by rail network since the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20), which indicates a 4% year-on-year increase, the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways said on Wednesday.
“Wheat accounted for more than 168,000 tons of the total sum. The figure registers an eightfold increase year-on-year,” Saeed Rasouli was also quoted as saying by ILNA.