Azerbaijan, Baku, Jun.10/ Trend R.Zamanov
Following Turkmenistan, Iraq will stop importing Iranian cements from July 1, deputy head of Khuzestan's Cement Exporters Union said on Monday.
The move supposedly aims at boosting Iraq's domestic cement production, the ISNA News Agency quoted Sadeq Sava'edi as saying.
He further said that political and security issues were also influential in the decision.
Iran currently exports 20 to 30 thousand tons of cement per day to Iraq, he said, adding that a halt in exports would finally result in decrease of production, Sava'edi said.
Iraq with 63 percent is Iran's biggest cement importer.
Mohammad Fatemian, an official with the Industry, Mine, and Trade ministry said on June 9 that Iran plans to export 18.5 million tons of cement in the current Iranian calendar year, which ended March 20, 2014.
Iran's cement and clinker exports stood at over 13.648 million tons in the previous calendar year, which ended March 20.
The country exported over 11.85 million tons of cement and 1.79 million tons of clinker in the mentioned period, the IRNA News Agency reported.
Iran exported cement to 24 countries including Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Georgia, Oman, India, and China in the past Iranian year.
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