Joint chamber member: Iran’s annual exports to Iraq top $8b
Iran annually exports more than $8 billion worth of products to Iraq, said a member of Iran-Iraq joint chamber of commerce.
Reza Mounesan, the head of the techno-engineering services committee of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, added however, Iran is required to draw up plans to maintain and increase the volume of its overseas sales to the country as Iraq is undergoing the industrialization process and will become an industrial state in the future, ISNA wrote.
He listed China, India, the US and South Korea as Iraq’s other trade partners.
Mounesan said it is of utmost importance for Iranian traders and businessmen to gain further knowledge about ways to increase trade with their western neighbor as Iraq’s trade and economy is in close connection with the country’s cultural, political and social structures.
Entering the Iraqi market has numerous advantages for Iranian traders as there is a common border between the two countries along which several terminals are located, the distance between the two states is relatively short which facilitates transportation between them. Iraq is 90 percent dependent on imports for meeting domestic needs and has a strategic position.
Mounesan said Baghdad is a suitable place for Iranian traders and businessmen through which to enter the Iraqi market as the city is home to 20 percent of Iraq’s population, demand for goods and services is higher there compared to other parts of Iraq and the country’s main traders and organizations are located in this city.
He listed Basra, Najaf and Karbala as Iraq’s other important cities.