Iranian Official Reports Increase In Goods Transit From Afghanistan

Mohammad Kouhgard, Director-General of South Khorasan Customs, has said that in the the past two months, 6,837 cargo trucks have transited from the Mahiroud border to Afghanistan.

Kouhgard stated that transit to Afghanistan has seen a "90 percent increase in weight" and declared its value to be over USD 242 million.

Earlier, in 18 shipments this year, the Director-General of South Khorasan Customs announced a threefold increase in cargo transit to Afghanistan.

Kouhgard, on Monday, in an interview with IRNA, said that cargo transit to Afghanistan has seen a "90 percent increase in weight”.

According to him, transit of goods has grown by 965 percent in terms of the number of trucks and by 770 percent in terms of value.

Transit goods to Afghanistan include trucks carrying sugar, flour, oil, used empty containers, and chemical fertilisers.

These goods have been transited from Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and Indonesia through the Mahiroud Customs to Afghanistan.

This Iranian official also reported exports of goods from South Khorasan Customs to Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Iraq.

These goods include cement, fuel oil, tiles and ceramics, edible salt, plastic products, and other export items to these countries.

Kouhgard said that the total exports through South Khorasan Customs in the past year amounted to over USD 122 million, with a 70 percent increase in value and a 30 percent increase in weight.

South Khorasan has four border markets and shares a 331-kilometre border with Afghanistan.