Ali Torabi added that the decision is aimed at preventing a rise in the prices of essential goods in the domestic market and preventing an excessive harvesting of spring and herbal plants in Piranshahr County for exports to Iraq, IRNA reported.
Tamarchin border crossing is one of Iran’s trade gateways to Iraq via the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
Parvizkhan and Bashmaq are other crossings into the Kurdish region.
According to Omar al-Waeli, the head of Iraq's Border Ports Authority, Mehran border crossing, Iran's main gateway to the Iraqi mainland, reopened last week.
According to the official, the border is open for commercial exchanges for two days each week, while observing health protocols.
Located in Ilam Province, Mehran has for long been the busiest border between Iran and Iraq.
There is no other direct crossing open between Iran and Iraq at present. In other words, Shalamcheh, Chazzabeh and Khosravi frontiers remain closed for commercial exchanges.
Notably, sending trucks to border crossings of Parvizkhan and Bashmaq has been banned until further notice due to the long lines of trucks waiting there to cross into the Iraqi Kurdistan, according to Mohsen Yazarlou, a local official of Golestan Province.
Secretary-General of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce Hamid Hosseini said last month that 700-800 trucks carrying Iranian goods cross the Iraqi Kurdistan border from Iran per day.
Iraq is a major destination of Iranian exports.
“Presently, there are 4.15 million tons of essential goods at Iranian ports, of which Imam Khomeini Port accounts for more than 3 million tons,” Mohammad Rastad, the managing director of Ports and Maritime Organization, was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency last week.
“Corn makes up the lion’s share of these goods with 2.4 million tons while wheat, barley, soybeans, rice, sugar, vegetable oils and oilseeds constitute the rest.”
Rastad noted that about 803,000 tons of essential goods are about to proceed to their final destinations inland, 405,000 tons are in the customs clearance process and 300,000 tons are in the assessment stage.
“As we speak, 25 ships are unloading about 589,000 tons of essential goods and 23 container ships with more than 1.7 million tons of essential goods are waiting to enter the ports,” he said.
According to the spokesman of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs administration, Rouhollah Latifi, a total of 25.09 million tons of essential goods worth close to $15.5 billion were imported into Iran in 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.
“This amount 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 by ISNA as saying.
“The imported essential commodities included wheat, sugar, corn, rubber, barley, processed tea, rice, seeds, red meat, soybeans, pulses, paper, fertilizers and industrial machinery.”
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
Imam Khomeini Port in southwestern Khuzestan Province is the main hub for the import of essential goods in Iran.