Financial Tribune - Iran�s exports to the neighboring country Iraq have been on the decline since the last Iranian month (June 22-July 22), says secretary-general of Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce.

Hamid Hosseini added that the downward trend is rooted in several factors, including the gradual appreciation of Iran's national currency, summertime heat and the government�s pressure on exporters to repatriate their earnings.

By the end of last Iranian year (March 19, 2019), the Iranian rial had lost about two-thirds of its value against the dollar, but regained some of the lost ground, which implies that exporters' earnings have slightly diminished.

Amid dwindling currency reserves as a result of reimposed US sanctions aimed at choking Iran's oil exports, the government issued a directive requiring exporters to return their export earnings to the Central Bank of Iran at an exchange rate set below market prices. This raised domestic exporters� complaint as the move means less earning, much to their discouragement.