Noting that Bazargan border crossing in West Azarbaijan Province bordering Turkey was the busiest border terminal in terms of both exports and imports, the official said the second and third busiest border terminals in terms of imports and exports were Jolfa Customs Terminal in East Azarbaijan Province and Astara Customs Terminal in the northern border city of Astara in Gilan Province, respectively.
According to Mojtaba Bazgir, a border official, petrochemical products, different types of industrial and motor oils, paraffin, agricultural products (including watermelons, honeydew, grapes, peanuts, garlic, dates, apples, dried fruit, vegetables and licorice extract), stones, ceramic and glass products, iron and steel scrap and textiles are the main goods exported from Bazargan border crossing.
Imports include mechanical spare parts, electrical devices and machines, cast iron artifacts, iron and steel, plastic products, paint and ink, vehicles, fabric, embroidered and crocheted textiles, aluminum, nickel and other metals, natural rubber and welding machines.
Bazargan is the central city of Bazargan District in Maku County and the most important Iranian land border for trading with Turkey.
To stem the spread of Covid-19, Turkey in March shut its border gates with neighboring countries, including Iran and Iraq.
The Bazargan border initially opened for trade in May, but restrictions were imposed on truck traffic.
According to Spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration Rouhollah Latifi, 60 Iranian trucks per day were allowed to export goods to Turkey from Iran as per new agreements reached on May 5.
Trucks started arriving at border gates after Turkish Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan announced in June that Turkey has reopened the Gurbulak border gate with Iran (known as Bazargan on the Iranian side of the border)
Trucks from Iran arrived at the Gurbulak customs gate after the announcement and entered Turkey after the completion of necessary procedures. Turkish trucks looking to enter Iran also started arriving at the border gate.
Iran and Turkey exchanged $316.55 million worth of goods and commodities in October 2020, to register a rise in monthly trade after experiencing negative growth for several months.
According to the latest data released by Turkish Statistical Institute, the neighboring country's October trade with Iran was 1.93% higher than October 2019.
Exports to Turkey accounted for $101.14 million of the figure, down 6.83% YOY, while Turkey’s exports to Iran stood at $205.411 million, up 6.64% year-on-year.
Monthly trade between Iran and Turkey fell below $300 million in the ninth month of the year, mostly due to a fall in Iran's exports to the neighboring country.
The two countries' bilateral trade stood at $2.6 billion during the first 10 months of 2020 (January-October) to register a decrease of 54% compared with the corresponding period of 2019.
Iran exported $883.5 million worth of goods to Turkey during the period to register a 73.9% year-on-year decline. Imports from Turkey stood at $1.7 billion, down 24.3% YOY.
The huge decline in bilateral trade comes, as the two countries have been hit hard by the new coronavirus pandemic since early 2020.
“When it comes to transit of goods, the western Kurdestan Province's Bashmaq border crossing and Dogharoun crossing in Khorasan Razavi Province were the most active border crossings during the month under review,” Hedayati was quoted as saying by the news portal of the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development.
“Export-bound transshipment was the highest through Parviz-Khan border crossing in the western Kermanshah Province. Land borders with Iraq and Afghanistan registered the highest level of truck traffic during the month. As a result, outbound truck movement increased by 49% during the month under review compared with the previous month. The number of trucks waiting at borders reduced by 20%.”