Iranian Cargo Transit Up 8.24% Y-o-Y In The Past Six Months
Cargo transit through Iran increased by 8.24%, during the first six months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through September 22, 2023), compared to the same period last year, the Director General of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mohammad Rezvanifar has said.
He noted that a total of 7.7 million tons of cargo were transited through Iran during this period. 5.84 million tons of cargo were transited through Iranian roads during the period, an increase of approximately 17% compared with the same time last Iranian year.
Iran is located on a number of international transit routes, such as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC), and the East-West International Corridor. Nevertheless, the infrastructures along the route of these routes passing through the country are not yet fully sufficient, while full-scale operations of the INSTC routes will not commence until late 2024.
Iran is not considered a reliable route for Western cargo companies, whose Governments have also applied a number of international sanctions against the country. Insuring Western goods and vehicles transiting Iran has become problematic, and quite deliberately so. However, Russia, Central Asia and Middle Eastern insurers are not affected.
Currently, there are 2,793 km of controlled-access highways, 45,170 km of highways, and freeways in operation in Iran. Iran’s railway lines amount to 14,984 kilometers. At present, 978 locomotives, 29,305 freight wagons, and 2,153 passenger wagons are in operation on Iran’s railways.
In total, more than 12.9 million tons of cargo were transited through Iran in the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022, through March 20, 2023). That is an increase of 2.2% compared to the preceding year (March 21, 2021 through March 20, 2022). However, Iranian transit potential is certainly there – as the INSTC and Middle Corridor routes are better developed and start to come online, while Iran’s pending membership of BRICS will also boost its transit potential.
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