IRAN: Iran's Northern Province Ups Exports by 79%

The value of exports from Iran's Northern province of Mazandaran has witnessed a 79% increase during the last eight months compared with the same period last year, a provincial official announced on Monday.

Deputy Head of Mazandaran's Commerce Organization for Trade Development said that 614,000 tons of different food stuffs, cement, agricultural products, different types of mineral materials, construction materials and wooden products have been exported from his province to Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, UAE, France, Austria, Belarus and other countries since the beginning of the current Iranian year (started on March 21, 2010). He said that the value of the exported goods amounted to $118 million, adding that exports from the province have witness a 217% increase in terms of volume and a 79% growth in terms of value. The provincial official further noted that the volume and the value of goods imported by Mazandaran have decreased by 30% during the same period. Meantime, Head of Mazandaran's Agricultural Jihad Organization Enayatollah Torang announced exports of agricultural products from Mazandaran have increased by 91% in terms of volume and 81% in terms of value since the beginning of the current Iranian year compared with the same period last year. Last Tuesday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that the country has broad plans for constructing several major industrial complexes in Mazandaran within the next few months. He further pointed out that Mazandaran province enjoys the required cultural, human and natural resources to become the most advanced province of the country and a role model of progress for the other provinces.