TEHRAN (Iran News) –Head of the Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce says the chamber is to establish four trade centers in four different points of China by the yearend and it will also hold permanent exhibitions on Iranian goods.
Speaking to ILNA, Majid Reza Hariri explained the latest developments in trade relation between Iran and China and said that the political relation of both countries is getting warmer but one should not expect any significant development in trade ties in short term after President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Beijing. He added that during the visit, both countries defined new ways for trade, and it makes him hopeful about the increase in trade volume.
He then touched upon the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region, saying it will have no direct impact on Iran-China economic and political relations, adding that but it can pave the ground for removing hurdles in international levels and ultimately for some political openings in the region and then in the world, and it may also open new markets for Iran, in other words, political agreements will have economic fruits.
Hariri then blamed sanctions and banking process problem for the low trade volume of Iran and China.
On export of only 10 tons of orange to China, he said that it was just for checking the process of exporting citrus fruits and if the Chinese verify Iran’s quarantine process of citrus fruits, then China has capacity to import one million tons of Iranian citrus fruits a year. He admitted that fruit producers in the country pay less heed to the international standards and it causes a headache for exports.
Hariri also pointed to the export of shrimps to China and said that there is no problem as currently considerable amount of shrimp is exported to China. He stressed that major parts of Iran’s non-oil products are exported to Iraq and Afghanistan markets and Iranian traders need to pass courses for entering other markets.
He reiterated that to have more share of China market, it needs planning and spending time, adding that Iranian traders prefer exports to Iraq and Afghanistan because they easily get their money after delivery but it is not considered export because real export needs investment in the target market and Iranian traders should at least spend from their own pockets for one year in order to have lion’s from big markets like China and if they suffered losses, they should not bother and do their best to present their products in those markets.
Hariri then said that in the past 15 years the rules of international commerce have been forgotten or ignored in the country because of sanctions and this is the task of chambers of commerce and formations to concentrate on this point that foreign trade needs knowledge, investment and patience for marketing.
He said that the project for developing non-oil exports to China was defined in the joint chamber almost 3 years ago but the pandemic caused the delay in its implementation and he expressed hope this project will start in the spring and the office of the chamber would become active.
He reiterated that the chamber is to launch four trade centers in four different points of China by the yearend and also to hold permanent exhibitions of Iranian goods in China as it is also to provide services for the small and medium traders.
