TEHRAN (Iran News) –A member of Iran-Pakistan Joint Chamber of Commerce says exports of coal from Iran to Pakistan have started, admitting that the barter trade with Pakistan has not been operationalized yet.
Speaking to ILNA, Ali Rigi Mirjaveh said that Pakistan government has asked its traders to import all of its required goods from Iran and it has been decided Pakistan to import required coal from Iran. He added that the ceiling of coal exports to Pakistan has not been determined yet but it seems Pakistan to import 500,000 tons of coal annually from Iran.
He went on to say that trade between Iran and Pakistan through barter has not been operationalized yet, adding that currently the trade between Iran and Pakistan is something like barter and it means Iran exports goods to Pakistan and in return it imports goods and the trade in dollar form has been almost eliminated.
Rigi stated that currently the border market is in good condition and the chamber is working to increase the trade volume of Iran and Pakistan to $5b but currently the figure stands at between $1.5b to $2b.
He also said that challenges ahead of bartering Iran’s apple with Pakistan have been resolved, adding that to date Iran has not succeeded in exporting apple to Pakistan because it was decided apple to be exported in exchange with importing tangerine, reiterating apple has not entered the market yet but next month exports of apple and grape to Pakistan will start.
Rigi also pointed to devaluation of Pakistan’s rupee against the U.S. dollar and said that in the past months each dollar was traded for 150 rupees but today each dollar is traded for 240 rupees and this has created challenges for exports between the two states.
He then pointed to the destruction of road construction in Pakistan due to recent floods in this country and said that Iranian trucks can go to Gwadar in Pakistan while before the floods happen, they could go to Karachi and Lahore because according to Pakistan’s approved laws, foreign trucks can only move into the country for 80 kilometers.
Rigi said that perishable goods should be carried with refrigerator trucks but in Pakistan it is carried with normal trucks.
