Central Asian cargos to be transited via Iran

Iran has reached an agreement with four Central Asian countries of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan on the transit of cargos from/to these countries via its territory, Trend reports.

Through this agreement, the transit of six kinds of goods via Iran will increase, Hossein Ashuri, Islamic Republic Railways’ deputy, told Mehr news agency.

The goods under the agreement will include fertilizers, sulfur, wheat, steel, and aluminum ingots, he said.

Ashuri noted that although Iran used to have trade agreements with the countries in the past, the recent pact includes tariff reduction and reduction of transit time.

Uzbekistan last Iranian fiscal year (which ended March 20) shipped 300,000 tons of cotton to the Persian Gulf via Iran. The number is expected to hit 350,000 this year.

Since the beginning of the current Iranian year, Tajikistan also shipped some 15 thousand tons of aluminum via Iran. The number is expected to hit 50 thousand this year.