Contrary To Iran’s Claims Exports To Iraq Drop 8%

The Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce announced on Monday that contrary to government’s claim, Iran's exports to Iraq have decreased in the past five months.

The head of Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce, Jahanbakhsh Sanjabi Shirazi, told ILNA that the exports decreased 8 percent in terms of value and 28 percent in terms of weight.

He said the main reason behind the drop is the elimination of cheap government dollars for importing raw material, noting that after its removal prices of Iranian-made products rose above the global baseline, and the first reaction of customers was to stop buying goods.

The drop in Iran's exports to Iraq, which is the country’s second largest trade partner, comes as a member of Iran's Chamber of Commerce admitted in February that Iran is losing Iraq's $30 billion market.

On Sunday, September 11, the head of the Iranian Association of Exporters of Technical and Engineering Services, Bahman Salehi-Javid, said the country’s export of such services has declined to about $500 million from the figure of $5 billion about 10 years ago.

US sanctions have dramatically reduced Iran’s export revenues. Not only Tehran is getting less than half of its usual oil income, but trade in general has suffered because of US banking sanctions, forcing Iran to offer low prices.