According to the newly-appointed Director General of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization Alireza Mohammadi Karajiran, container loading and unloading in the port stood at 482,000 TEUs over the four-month period, Fars News Agency reported.
With 12 wharfs, Shahid Rajaee Port is Iran’s biggest container port, accounting for 90% of the country’s total container throughput.
Over half of Iran’s commercial trading is carried out at Shahid Rajaee, which is located 23 kilometers west of the port city of Bandar Abbas, the capital of Hormozgan Province.
The Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran's latest available data show a total of 13.24 million tons of commodities were loaded and unloaded in Shahid Rajaee Port during the first quarter of the current Iranian year (March 20-June 20), registering a 27.11% fall compared with the similar period of last year.
This made Shahid Rajaee the country’s busiest port during the period, as in previous reports. Non-oil goods accounted for around 6.55 million tons and oil products for more than 6.68 million tons of the total, showing a 45.19% decline and a 7.76% rise respectively year-on-year.
According to Mohammad Reza Rezaei-Kouchi, the head of Majlis Development Commission, Shahid Rajaee Port has a 6% share in the region’s total container throughput per annum.
A total of 1 million tons of essential goods were unloaded in Shahid Rajaee Port from the beginning of the current Iranian year (March 20) up until July 5 to register a 20% increase compared with the similar period of last year.
According to former director general of Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organization, Allahmorad Afifipour, the unloaded goods included vegetable oils, wheat, sugar, fertilizers and paper pulp, the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development as saying.
He noted that a total of 20 vessels carried the essential goods to Shahid Rajaee Port over the period under review.
Also known as necessity goods, essential goods are products consumers will buy, regardless of changes in income levels.
Iran’s 21 major commercial ports loaded and unloaded 28.65 million tons of commodities in Q1 to register a 27.86% decline compared with the similar period of last year.
The decline comes amid heavily-imposed economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic by the United States, the effects of which have been further complicated by the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus and the subsequent downfall in global trade.
According to figures published in the Ports and Maritime Organization of Iran's website, non-oil goods accounted for 18.99 million tons of the total throughput (66%), showing a 33.72% fall year-on-year.
The remaining 9.66 million tons pertained to oil products, indicating a 12.71% decline YOY.
Container loading and unloading decreased by 30% to stand at more than 342,915 TEUs.
More than 11.78 million tons of commodities were exported from the ports and over 8.36 million tons were imported, registering a 35.59% and 0.47% decline respectively YOY.
A total of 605,828 tons of goods were transited through the Iranian ports during the same period, indicating a 48.68% decrease YOY.
The 21 ports under study include Iran’s southern ports of Shahid Rajaee, Abadan, Imam Khomeini, Bushehr, Khorramshahr, Genaveh, Bandar Lengeh, Chavibdeh, Arvandkenar, Charak and Dayyer located on the shores of the Persian Gulf, Shahid Bahonar, Qeshm and Tiab at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz, Jask and Chabahar on the coasts of the Sea of Oman and the northern ports of Fereydounkenar, Noshahr, Astara, Amirabad and Anzali on the Caspian Sea shoreline.