BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 5. Iran’s imports from Azerbaijan through the Astara railway terminal in Gilan Province in the north of the country increased by 107 percent in the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21 through September 22, 2023), compared to the same period last year, Director General of Iran's Northern Railway Department Gholam Hossein Valadi said, Trend reports.
According to Valadi, Iran imported about 96,000 tons of goods from Azerbaijan through the Astara railway terminal in six months.
He also said that the import was around 46,500 tons in the same period as last year.
The director general added that the imported products were mainly wood and wood materials, corn, lentils, etc.
The Astara railway terminal is located in Iran’s Astara city on an area of 35 hectares, 1.4 km from the Azerbaijan-Iran border.
According to the intergovernmental agreement between Azerbaijan and Iran, the construction of the terminal began in 2017. The Astara railway terminal, built by Azerbaijan Railways, has been leased to Azerbaijan for 25 years.
Despite the ongoing construction of the Astara terminal, several parts of the terminal have already been ready for operation, and since the beginning of 2018, transshipment operations have been carried out there.
Overall, Iran imported 17.6 million tons of goods worth $30.4 billion in the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21 through September 22, 2023). This is an increase of 11.6 percent in value and 6.89 percent in volume compared to the same period last year.
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