Iran eager to boost trade with Turkmenistan
The managing director of the Trade Promotion Organisation of
Iran (TPOI) has said that the necessary infrastructures for
boosting trade ties with Turkmenistan should be provided, IRIB
reported on November 18.
There are some bottlenecks in Iran-Turkmenistan trade, TPOI head
Valiollah Afkhami said, adding that Turkmenistan has notable
potential to increase the volume of trade.
Iran mainly exports cement, potatoes and apples, types of flour and
pipe fittings to Turkmenistan.
In July, the IRNA news agency reported that Iranian and Turkmen
merchants plan to boost trade turnover by 100 per cent reaching $10
billion.
Iranian-Turkmen trade turnover reached some $5billion in the last
solar year (end on March 21).
According to the Iran Custom Administration report, Turkmenistan
exported some $244 million worth of gas during first three months
of the current solar year. The value of imports was some $15
million in the same period.
Iran imported 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas worth $3.5 billion
from Turkmenistan in the last solar year. This indicates a 50 per
cent decrease compared to the previous solar year.
Iran is Turkmenistan's second largest trade partner after Russia,
the report said.
Iran's highest foreign trade balance was with Iraq, Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan and Egypt during the first quarter of the current
solar year.