TEHRAN (Iran News) – The chairman of Iran-Russia Chamber of Commerce says Iran’s exports to Russia have increased by 20 percent but with the existing condition, one cannot expect more increase of the exports to Russia.
Speaking to ILNA, Hadi Tizhoush Taban said Russia’s imports only in the agro and food products are estimated at $67b per year but Iran accounts only for 0.22 percent of the figure which is around $500m.
Touching upon on the current condition of trade between Iran and Russia, he said the trade condition of Iran and Russia has not changed considerably because when the borders of other countries were closed due to the pandemic, Russia’s border was open for imports and exports of goods, adding that major problems for Iran’s trade with Russia are domestic because required infrastructures for transportation are not ready and as long as these infrastructures do not get ready, the trade volume with Russia will not increase noticeably.
Tizhoush Taban went on to say but comparing to the past years, Iran’s exports to Russia have increased but the figure has not been so considerable and it has been around 20 percent. He noted that Russia imports agro and food products worth of $67b annually but Iran’s share of the figure is only 0.22 percent and around $500m. He stated other countries have entered Russia’s big market but unfortunately Iran has not acted successfully, and sanctions as well as domestic issues like banking issues should be blamed for this failure.
He went on to say that problems of banking system cost dear for Iranian tradesmen and repatriation of the earned forex from the exports has also its problems. He reiterated that as long as these problems are not solved, one cannot expect considerable rise in the exports unless the domestic laws and regulations are revised.
Tizhoush Taban also said one of the problems of the trade is the issue of regulating the domestic market, adding that when the country faces the shortage of one commodity, its exports are halted and this happens nowhere in the world in this way. He said if a country faces shortage of some commodity, it begins its imports until it meets the demand of the domestic market and then its imports are halted. He reiterated that regulation of the domestic market is done with imports but in Iran the market regulation is done by stopping exports. So an economic activist cannot have a long term planning for his activities and he just looks at his short term interests, and for this reason one cannot expect considerable rise in exports, he added.
On Iran’s imports from Russia, he said that Iran’s imports from Russia are mostly wood, oil seeds, livestock and poultry and there is no certain import from Russia and to expand it, Iran needs resolving issues like banking issue.
Responding to a question on the North-South Corridor, he said with completion of this corridor, the costs will be decreased by one-third and it will have good revenues for Iran.
He also reiterated that Eurasia can create good facilities for Iran regarding tariffs and the final cost of the prices in the region, and this point should be taken seriously and Iran’s ties with Eurasia should be expanded.
