Iraq – Nearly 350 food trucks are returning to Iran for failure to comply with health procedures

Sulaymaniyah- Kurdistan Region -Iraq 20/04/2020

Although the Coronavirus was able to stop the movement of passengers and the transport of goods at many border crossings between Iraq and neighboring countries, it was unable to stop the movement of the Bachmakh border crossing in the Kurdistan region of Iraq due to its liveliness, as this crossing is the largest border crossing point for Iraq with Iran, the rate of trade exchange between the region and Iran reaches 50%, forcing the region to keep the trade exchange movement with Iran, in order to ensure that there is no shortage of foodstuffs between the two parties, and the region’s authorities take several measures to control the non-proliferation of the virus, where Iranian truck drivers place the goods in a private yard and then leave the place, and the region’s truck drivers take the goods, after sterilization and monitoring, and inspect the drivers entering the region, and the Bachmakh border crossing relations manager indicated, Mukhtar Haji Ali, that all food and agricultural materials entering Kurdistan are examining food, agricultural and health checks before entering them, adding that approximately 350 trucks loaded with food and agricultural materials have been returned to Iran, due to lack of compliance with public safety procedures and health instructions.