According to Director General of Kurdestan Customs Administration Bakhtiar Rahmanipour, Bashmaq in Marivan County, Sanandaj in the provincial capital and Siranband in Baneh County were the busiest customs offices during the period under review, exporting a total of 756,035 tons of non-oil goods worth $319.8 million, IRNA reported.
A total of 479,195 tons of commodities worth $1 billion were transited through Bashmaq border crossing in the western Kurdestan Province during the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Aug. 21), indicating that Bashmaq ranked first in goods transit among all Iranian border crossings during the period, the official said recently.
According to Rahmanipour, 90% of Kurdestan Province's foreign trade pass through Bashmaq.
Bashmaq is one of the few customs bureaus that has remained open all along, despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.
Iraq closed its land borders with Iran in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in early March.
Amid restrictions imposed by the Iraqi government on cross-border trade due to the spread of the new coronavirus, Iran has been directing the bulk of its exports to the neighboring country through its borders with the Iraqi Kurdistan, mainly Bashmaq, Parvizkhan and Tamarchin.
Iraq is the biggest destination of Iran's exports among its neighboring countries.
About 8.1 million tons of goods worth $3.8 billion were exported from Iran to Iraq through the Iraqi Kurdistan Region during the last fiscal year that ended on March 19.
“The exports accounted for 42% of Iran’s total exports to Iraq in terms of value and for over 31% in terms of tonnage during the period under review,” Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
Parvizkhan border crossing had a share of more than 3 million tons worth $1.4 billion, followed by Bashmaq with $1.12 billion and Tamarchin border crossing with $754 million.
Iran exported more than 25.68 million tons of goods worth $8.99 billion to Iraq last year.
Iraq also reopened its Manzarieh border crossing with Iran (called Khosravi on the Iranian side) on July 23.
Iraq partially reopened its southern Shalamcheh border crossing with Iran on July 7 after more than three months of closure to combat the viral outbreak.
The crossing was being opened only for the trade of food commodities, allowing in 500 trucks from Iran on Wednesdays and Sundays, an official said.
The crossings of Mehran in Ilam Province and Khorramshahr in Khuzestan Province are now also open to trade.
Mehran border terminal reopened on June 9. Transshipment of Iranian products through this border crossing is allowed on Mondays and Wednesdays, Otaghiranonline.ir reported.