'Business is finished': Iranian merchants fear the worst as virus spreads - Reuters:
Iranian merchants plying the busy Strait of Hormuz between Dubai and Iran fear their next trip home will be a one-way trip after the United Arab Emirates banned ferry services to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Business is finished,” said Iranian trader Morad as he stacked goods on a small wooden dhow this week destined for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas some 230 km (140 miles) away.
Iran, which has emerged as an epicenter for the disease that originated in China, is already grappling with economic hardship as U.S. sanctions curb oil and gas exports crucial for government revenues.
Now its non-oil trade, which the International Monetary Fund had estimated would be about $40 billion in 2020 - or nearly 10% of its economy - is under threat just weeks after mass protests against the government over economic hardships were crushed.
Iranian merchants plying the busy Strait of Hormuz between Dubai and Iran fear their next trip home will be a one-way trip after the United Arab Emirates banned ferry services to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
“Business is finished,” said Iranian trader Morad as he stacked goods on a small wooden dhow this week destined for the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas some 230 km (140 miles) away.
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| Workers load goods onto a dhow bound for Iran along the creek in old Dubai, United Arab Emirates, March 2, 2020. Picture taken March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike |
Iran, which has emerged as an epicenter for the disease that originated in China, is already grappling with economic hardship as U.S. sanctions curb oil and gas exports crucial for government revenues.
Now its non-oil trade, which the International Monetary Fund had estimated would be about $40 billion in 2020 - or nearly 10% of its economy - is under threat just weeks after mass protests against the government over economic hardships were crushed.
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