TEHRAN, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- An Iranian business official said Iran is losing Iraqi market to its rivals, Financial Tribune daily reported Tuesday.
A reason for the decline of the share has to be sought in the low quality and high prices of Iranian products, said Mostafa Mousavi, a member of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
Poor packaging is another reason behind Iran's loss of the Iraqi market, Mousavi added.
Iran's rivals in the Iraqi market, mainly China, Turkey and Syria, pay subsidies to exporters, which have effectively diminished the competitiveness of Iranian exporters, he noted.
"We can't compete with them, under the current situation," Mousavi said.
Besides, the exports of perishable products from Iran's border provinces of Khuzestan and Ilam, at the temperatures over 45 degrees Celsius, is also a challenge, the Iranian official maintained.
Despite the war, Syria exports agro-products to Iraq, notably with refrigerated vehicles, while the Iranian transport system lacks such infrastructure, he pointed out.
According to the daily, Iran exported 4.13 million tons of non-oil commodities worth over two billion U.S. dollars to Iraq during the four months to July 22, a 13.7 percent decrease in volume and a 6.5 increase in value compared with last year.
Iran's main exports to the neighboring country include agro-products, foodstuff and fruits such as watermelon, tomato and cucumber, which account for 37 percent of the total exports.
Other Iranian exports to Iraq include canned food, tomato paste, chicken, egg, meat, construction materials including rebar, tiles and ceramics, steel and evaporative cooler.
