According to Total News, Mir Fathali Seyed Zenozi, while pointing out the main problems of the private sector, said, Sanctions, the impossibility of signing contracts with foreign companies, the lack of remittances to Iran, and the lack of stability in the exchange rate are among the challenges that the private sector is involved with it.
The vice chairman of the International Transport Association of Iran considered the effect of the exchange rate on the activities of the transport company as direct and added, the main activities of the international transport industry are abroad, for this reason the exchange rate has a direct effect on the activity of international transport companies. In other words, if the exchange rate increases, we will be deprived of the possibility of competing with foreign competitors.
Pointing out that we have to compete with foreign international transport companies in the field of imports, Zenozi said, due to currency fluctuations, the transportation cost for the North-South Corridor transit, when converting the cost of Rials to dollars, it is not possible to announce a fixed rate to foreign customers and this causes the loss of the Iranian transport market and is handed over to foreign competitors.
The CEO of Duman Tarabar Company considered the stabilization of the exchange rate as a solution to improve the transportation industry and added, to prevent the loss of the Iranian market as the transit highway of the world, it is necessary to keep the exchange rate stable. Also, with great efforts and consultations with government officials, the dollar has been gradually removed from the economic interactions between the two countries of Iran and Russia, and the ruble/rial unit is used in transactions, which will have a significant effect on the prosperity of the north and south corridor.
He considered the lack of long-term contracts with Russian companies as a challenge due to currency fluctuations and said, the lack of long-term contracts due to the lack of use of the rail fleet and the high side costs of transporting goods in Iran made the Russian side choose alternative routes for the passage of its goods. For example, the route of Norosik port to Istanbul ports and transshipment and transportation of goods to Far East ports, Dubai and India is used. Therefore, organizations related to the transit of goods should revise their transit tariffs and by modifying the conditions and costs, they can encourage the owners of the goods to use the transit route of Iran.
Zenozi considered the provision of foreign currency as one of the problems of other transport companies and stated, we are facing many problems when transporting goods from Bandar Abbas to the main destination, in order to secure foreign exchange fare. Because we have to get the currency at a free price from the exchanges and pay the shipping companies to transport the goods to the final destination.
The vice chairman of the International Transport Association of Iran considered the existing sanctions as an obstacle to transfer money between transport companies and foreign customers and said, when settling accounts with foreign customers, they claim that based on the provisions of the contract, the cost should be transferred to the account of the Iranian company. While due to the existing sanctions, we are not able to transfer money directly to the account of Iranian companies. Therefore, domestic companies are required to introduce intermediate companies (for example, based in Dubai or Turkey). In this case, there is a risk of not settling the account completely by the intermediary company, attracting existing customers and removing Iranian companies from the circle of cooperation. To solve this problem under sanctions, Iranian banks abroad (for example, branches of National Bank, Tejarat, Sepah, etc.) can act as exchange to avoid these problems.
The CEO of Duman Tarabar Company considered the clearing of transit and import cargo freight as an alternative to solving the existing sanctions problems and added, due to the existing sanctions, the transit and import cargo freight is settled in the form of clearing, in this case, money and currency are not exchanged.
He considered cash settlement with international drivers as an alternative to the above methods and said, currently, international companies prefer to cooperate more with companies in Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey, because the companies that carry the cargo settle with the drivers in cash. In this case, Iranian companies have no involvement in receiving and paying the fees and the contract is concluded directly with the drivers. But most of the companies in the Persian Gulf, China and India remit money officially; for this reason, the terms of delivery of goods are in Iranian ports, and international shipping companies do not have a role in transporting such goods.
Zenozi suggested issuing a visa card for international drivers and added, in my opinion, there should be a consultation with the Turkish government in order to issue a visa card for international transport drivers that they can use to pay fees and tolls.
The CEO of Duman Tarabar Company considered the use of the comprehensive transportation system as a factor in speeding up transit and said, the use of this system in all parts of the world is a factor in speeding up and facilitating transit, but in Iran this system reduces has been transported. For example, if the customs system is interrupted for a day, the damage caused to the transport companies is billions of Rials. The cost of sleeping trucks, the damage of the delay in the delivery of the container, the cost of storage and parking, all these are costs that are imposed on transport companies and goods owners due to system outages. Although the transport companies have no role in the delay, they are required to pay damages.
At the end, referring to the comprehensive transportation system and the need to integrate multiple systems in order to save time and money, Zenozi said, considering the launch of this system by subordinate organizations, there is hope for regular and timely support to solve some of the problems of the private sector in the country’s transportation industry.
Total News appreciates and thanks the public relations of the trade association of international transport companies of Iran for coordinating the said meeting.