Opportunity for Wheat Trade with Kazakhstan

TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking on Sunday at a meeting of the ICCIMA Board of Representatives, Sammad Hassan Zadeh said that if policymakers are seeking practical solutions to overcome current economic challenges, they must fundamentally review mechanisms that have led to bottlenecks in trade.

Referring to foreign exchange repatriation requirements, Hassan Zadeh said the policy has become one of the most challenging issues for exporters in practice. He noted that it has reduced incentives for formal exports, increased risk and uncertainty, put pressure on small export-oriented firms, encouraged the use of rented commercial cards, and pushed part of trade toward informal channels or under-declaration.

“The private sector believes that the return of foreign currency is a national necessity,” he said. “However, under current economic conditions, foreign exchange repatriation has effectively turned into a hidden tax on formal exports. This benefits neither the government, nor production, nor economic transparency.”

He added that instead of facilitating currency returns, the policy has reduced the depth of productive exports. Given the positive interest shown by other countries in engaging Iran’s private sector, Hassan Zadeh said the government is expected to undertake a serious review of its policies and mechanisms to ease trade for economic actors.

Addressing the outcomes of a recent Iranian trade delegation’s visit to Kazakhstan, Hassan Zadeh said nine cooperation documents were signed between the private sectors of the two countries. These covered mining, as well as broader trade and economic cooperation. An agreement was also signed on the transit transportation of Kazakh cargo toward Southeast Asia and Africa via Iran’s corridor.

Highlighting wheat trade as a major opportunity, he said senior Kazakh officials have expressed interest in exporting their surplus wheat either directly to Iran or through Iran to other markets. “Iran has extensive capacity in flour milling. If several flour mills take the initiative to purchase Kazakhstan’s surplus wheat and export flour to other countries, substantial value-added can be created,” he said.

Hassan Zadeh also outlined a number of operational proposals presented during meetings with Kazakhstan’s minister of trade, head of customs, and other senior public- and private-sector officials. These included forming a joint Iran–Kazakhstan operational task force to immediately define priority trade items under the Eurasian free trade agreement; launching a Kazakhstan–Iran green transit corridor with customs discounts; establishing a joint Iran–Kazakhstan logistics terminal at Iran’s southern ports; creating a joint industrial park in free zones to export to Eurasia; and forming a joint consortium in Iran to process Kazakhstan’s mineral resources for value-added exports to third countries.

In another part of his remarks, Hassan Zadeh addressed recent regulations on credit ceilings for commercial cards, discussed at the December 12 meeting of the Council of Provincial Chamber Heads. He said that under a directive issued by the Trade Promotion Organization, all commercial cards without rankings were deactivated as of November 30, 2025, and holders are required to obtain bank guarantees to receive or increase export and import credit ceilings. “Kazakhstan”

He warned that the directive has caused widespread confusion among economic actors, particularly in border provinces, regarding credit assessment and bank guarantee procedures. Chamber heads across the country concluded that credit assessment should be delegated to chambers of commerce from the outset of the process. “Kazakhstan”

“If chambers nationwide can manage credit assessment, it would be a major achievement,” Hassan Zadeh said, noting that although a similar proposal was made by the Trade Promotion Organization three months ago, chambers were not ready at the time due to a lack of necessary systems. He said the Board of Representatives must now decide whether chambers can provide the required guarantees for businesses.

At the beginning of his remarks, Hassan Zadeh also referred to the change of secretary general at ICCIMA, praising Dr. Sasan Shahveisi for his academic standing and valuable contributions to strengthening the chamber. He emphasized that Shahveisi’s departure from the post does not mean the chamber will no longer benefit from his expertise, describing him as a national asset whose experience will continue to be utilized in other capacities.