TEHRAN- More than 250,000 tons of basic commodities were cleared from Chabahar port, in the southeast of Iran during the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), the director of cereals and commercial services of Chabahar Free Zone Organization announced.Barat Khajeh said that the clearance of basic commodities, including wheat, rice and corn, from the port indicates 70 percent rise in terms of weight, and 118 percent growth in terms of value in the said two-month period as compared to the same time span of the past year.As previously announced by a provincial official, 1,981,156 tons of basic commodities were transported from Chabahar port to the designated destinations throughout the country in the past Iranian calendar year 1400 (ended on March 20).Mehrollah Damough, the head of goods transportation office of Road Maintenance and Transportation Department of Sistan-Baluchestan province, where the strategic port lies, said that the mentioned commodities were transported by 79,990 trucks.Chabahar is an important port and a low-cost route for Central Asian countries, which with its strategic unloading and loading equipment has the potential to become a key transit corridor for international transit and transportation, the official further underlined.As announced by the deputy head of Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), 30.9 million tons of basic goods worth $19.6 billion were cleared from the customs in the past Iranian calendar year.Foroud Asgari, the deputy head of IRICA for customs affairs, said that the imported goods were in 25 commodity groups.Putting the value of the imported basic commodities at $19.6 billion in the past year, the official said that the imports show a 60-percent rise in worth and 32-percent growth in weight, as compared to the Iranian calendar year 1399.As Iran's only oceanic port on the Gulf of Oman, Chabahar port holds great significance for the country both politically and economically.

The country has taken serious measures for developing this port in order to improve the country’s maritime trade.In this regard, the Islamic Republic has been welcoming investors from all over the world to take part in the development of this port and benefit from its distinguished position as a trade hub in the region.Chabahar port consists of Shahid Kalantari and Shahid Beheshti terminals, each of which has five berth facilities.

The port is located in Iran’s Sistan-Balouchestan Province and is about 120 kilometers southwest of Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, where the China-funded Gwadar port is situated.In May 2016, India, Iran, and Afghanistan signed a trilateral agreement for the strategically-located Chabahar to give New Delhi access to Kabul and Central Asia.Based on an agreement with Iran, India is going to install and operate modern loading and unloading equipment including mobile harbor cranes in Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar.MA/MA