SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iran’s exports of non-oil goods to Iraq have reached more than $6 billion in the past eight months, an Iranian official said on Saturday.
Member of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Seyyed Hamid Hosseini said Iran exported more than $6.1 billion worth of products to Iraq from March 21 to November 22, according to semi-official Mehr news agency.
Figures showed that Iran had exported $750 million worth of non-oil goods to Iraq per month, Hosseini said in an interview with Fars News Agency, Mehr reported.
Iran’s exports to Iraq reduced in the last two years due to impacts of coronavirus on trade between the two neighboring countries.
“Iran’s exports of products to Iraq decreased in 2020 due to the closure of borders between Iran and Iraq following spread of the pandemic,” Hosseini was quoted as saying.
Iraq is the second largest importer of Iranian products after China. Its main purchases from Iran are agricultural products, engineering services, construction materials, and energy including electricity and natural gas.
Travel and trade between the two countries had been hit by the coronavirus in the past two years. Baghdad began restricting travel, shutting its border crossings with Iran due to a surge in infection cases in Iran.
On Friday, Iran decided to suspend visa issuance for Iraqis for two weeks from Saturday, according to the Haji Omran border crossing in the Kurdistan Region.
