Opinion: What could drop in cargo transport between Armenia and Iran lead to?
Armenia Iran trade decline
“There has been some decline in cargo transport volumes in recent days, but the decrease is not very significant,” the State Revenue Committee of Armenia said about trade turnover with Iran.
Experts at the committee say the ongoing military actions in Iran make the decline “natural and predictable”. They believe cargo transport volumes will decrease.
“Because of the situation in Iran, transport companies do not want to use Iranian territory as a transit route. They prefer to move goods imported from China and from countries of the Middle East through the territory of Georgia,” the committee said.
Officials warn that cargo transport volumes could decline further. In response, Armenia’s prime minister Nikol Pashinyan assured journalists that Armenia will not face shortages of goods imported from Iran.
He said the Armenian authorities had already taken steps to mitigate and minimise risks after tensions around Iran escalated.
What is known at the time of publication, as well as an economist’s commentary.
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Communication disruptions reported in Iran
Journalists asked the State Revenue Committee of Armenia whether reports were accurate that the border checkpoint on the Iranian side had closed for citizens but remained open for truck traffic.
Officials said they only had information about queues that appear periodically. They explained that communication disruptions in Iran cause these delays.
“Queues have also formed at the Agarak border checkpoint on the Armenian side. At the moment, 180–200 trucks are waiting in line.”
Staff at the State Revenue Committee say communication outages force officials to work with paper versions of documents. This process takes more time.
“To prevent congestion, authorities may introduce certain restrictions for citizens in order to ensure normal movement of trucks.”
Operation of the customs checkpoint on the Armenia–Iran border
On 4 March, the State Revenue Committee of Armenia said cargo transport volumes between Armenia and Iran had not changed significantly.
“The Agarak border checkpoint operates as usual. It handles truck traffic from Armenia to Iran and from Iran to Armenia. The checkpoint serves an average of 400–450 trucks per day.”
After the start of military actions by the United States and Israel in Iran, officials reported that the Armenia–Iran border had not closed. However, on 2 March the Iranian ambassador to Armenia said during a press conference that authorities had briefly closed it.
“Two Iranian borders closed for 24 hours because of problems with systems operating at the border. One of them was the Iran–Armenia border. The problem was resolved at 9:30 in the morning, and now traffic moves freely in both directions,” said Khalil Shirgolami.
Commentary
Economist Suren Parsyan commented on the situation:
“Iran is our strategic partner not only in terms of importing or exporting certain goods. For Armenia, Iran is primarily an alternative route and a connection to the outside world.
We do not have strong dependence on Iran when it comes to food supplies. However, depending on the season, we import various fruits and vegetables. In the spring and winter months Armenia either does not produce these agricultural products or sells them at very high prices.
If the blockade and the war continue for a long time, these products could become more expensive here.
We import cream, powdered milk and even butter from Iran. Armenia’s milk production remains unstable. The country produces a lot of milk in summer but very little in winter. At the same time, the population still needs dairy products, so we often solve this problem through imports from Iran. If supplies of these products remain limited for a long time, prices for dairy products could rise.
