“Iraqi travelers to Iran purchase these goods and take them to Iraq. This will in the long run cause scarcity and a hike in the prices of these goods in the markets of Iranian border cities,” Marivan’s Governor Mohammad Shafiei was quoted as saying by IRNA.
The official added that 1,100 travelers from northern Iraq enter Marivan every day. Most of them purchase Iranian goods to carry back to Iraq, as the recent freefall in the Iranian currency’s value has made prices in Iran significantly cheaper vis-à-vis those in the markets of neighboring countries, according to Financial Tribune.