In the meeting, Sadatinejad said that unfortunately there is no trade balance between Iran and Brazil and major part of Brazil’s imports from Iran is urea fertilizer and only 2% of Iran’s agro products are exported to Brazil while agro products account for 50% of Brazil’s exports to Iran. He called on Brazilian minister to promise on working on promoting Iranian agro products in Brazil, and for the long-term plan both countries use ship- against-ship policy.

Sadatinejad reiterated the lowest amount of pesticides or fertilizers are used in Iran’s agro products and they are predominantly organic and holding joint exhibition is a good idea that Tehran welcomes it. He added Iran is neighboring with 17 countries and it can be a hub for livestock inputs in the region and Iran can distribute Brazilian inputs in its neighboring states.

He added that cruel sanctions have increased pressures on the people but the nation has stood against it considerably. He added that barter trade is the best means to skirt sanctions to resolve payment. He noted Brazil is one of the major urea and phosphate fertilizers consumers in the world as everybody knows well that Iran is one of the biggest producers of these petrochemical products in the world.

He reiterated that Iran has billion tons of phosphate soil which can be exported and the two countries can work to provide the ground for exports of Iranian agro products to Brazil.

Sadatinejad noted that Iran seeks strategic approach for providing national interests of both countries and pursue it seriously.

He said one of the hurdles is the tariff system of Brazil, adding that Brazil has levied 120% tariff on Iranian agro products while Iran’s tariff is only 4%. He also criticized the bureaucratic process in way of trade between the two countries and called for its removal, adding that both countries should provide the ground for activating the preferential trade between the two states and expand barter trade. He reiterated that Iran has turned into a hub in the world for procuring urea and Brazil is one of the top producers of livestock inputs.

He also called for establishing the trade line for pistachio and saffron between the two countries and preparing a long-term roadmap in the field of agriculture is very important for both countries.

Then Brazilian Minister Cristina said that the trade tie between Iran and Brazil is in good point and they can expand it as both countries have progressed well in agro and foodstuff sectors.

She added that Brazil can import 2m tons of urea from Iran and the tariff system is a point which should be noticed and she will reflect Iran’s complaint over the tariff system to the Brazilian government, reiterating that this tariff is not just for Iran and in includes all countries.

She added that trade is a reciprocal issue and there should be a balance between the two countries and it is not fair a loaded ship from Brazil to dock in Iran and returns unloaded.

She went on to say that her country was not yet self-sufficient in producing wheat and Iran could supply part of that if it were interested.

Cristina said Brazil intended to increase imports from Iran while exporting to the country achieving a leveled economic exchange.

By 2050, food demand will increase by 60 percent, and food-supplying countries need to make progress and come up with new ways to grow and harvest,” Brazil’s agriculture minister recalled.

Cristina stated that the purpose of her trip to Iran is to increase bilateral relations between the two countries in the field of agriculture.

Noting that Brazil is currently buying urea chemical fertilizers from Iran, which is important for the agricultural sector, Brazilian senior official added Brazil needed fertilizers to boost the production of sugar cane which is the main part of the Brazilian agriculture.

The Brazilian minister noted that direct and face-to-face talks could help resolve issues between the two countries, saying: “Because of the technology capacity and the ground we have, Brazil is ready to attract Iranian investors.”

“Iran imports materials from rival countries that we can import to Brazil at a competitive price,” she said, ” Rice is exported to Iran in small quantities; Sugar or cotton in the same way; we can interact more in this area.”

The Brazilian agriculture minister said her country didn’t much care about the sanctions and that she believed the development of the Tehran-Brasilia must be focused on boosting bilateral interests.

At the end of the meeting Sadatinejad and Cristina signed a MoU on developing agro cooperation between Iran and Brazil.

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In a webinar on reviewing potential and capacities for cooperation between Iran and Brazil, both sides called for finding ways to enhance trade ties and participants called for boosting the trade volume to $1b.

Head of International Affairs of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mine and Agriculture (ICCIMA) Mr. Mohammad Reza Karbasi said that the trade balance between Iran and Brazil is one-sided and despite agreements over bartering oil with goods, the oil exports have not been possible and Iran should diversify its basket of export goods to Brazil, adding that beside petrochemical products, dried fruits and porcelains are the other fields which have export potentials.

He reiterated that both countries should gradually move towards a balance in their bilateral trade, adding that for example signing of preferential and free trades with Brazil should be pursued by the state bodies and be signed by the two countries.

Karbasi said that Brazil and its neighbors are a 400-million-population market and at the same time Iran has the same capacity and both countries should have a long-term approach for their cooperation.

He noted that he has recently met with representatives of other Latin American countries and all of them are keen along with Brazil to expand their trade with Iran, adding that with the existing capacities of Iran and Brazil, there is possibility for the joint cooperation.

Then Iran’s Ambassador to Brazil Mr Hossein Gharibi, for his part, said that Brazil has a big agro and livestock products markets, adding that the country in the industrial sector is one of the biggest producers of cars with having 26 car-making companies and producing 3m cars per year whose revenues including the sales of auto-parts exceeds $100b.

He said that the trade volume of Iran and Brazil directly and indirectly was over $4b in 2019. He said in 2019, Iran’s urea was introduced to Brazil’s market and in the shortest time the volume of export of urea to Brazil surpassed millions of tons as the demand for this product is very high in Brazil. He added that there is also huge demand in Brazil for petrochemical products like bitumen, methanol and polymers, reiterating that bitumen has a $200m market in Brazil.

Gharibi reiterated that to balance the bilateral trade, two actions should be taken: maintaining the current level of exports and diversification of the exporting items. He noted that one of the grounds for expansion of trade with Brazil is to resolve the banking problems.

He reiterated that there have been some talks between the two countries on transporting goods by ship and a shipping line is to be launched by two countries but it needs providing ships with fuel in Brazil’s ports. He noted the opening of the Iran-Brazil trade office in Sao Paulo will have help considerably the trade ties between Iran and Brazil.

Gharibi emphasized that Brazil has a positive policy regarding the Middle East and therefore Iran should strengthen its position in the West Asia in trade with Brazil because countries in the region like the UAE, Bahrain and Oman are currently improving their trade with Brazil.

Then Head of Iran-Brazil Joint Chamber of Commerce Mr. Fakhroddin Amerian, for his part, said that the issue of bartering trade between the two states should be seriously pursued and by the way Iran should increase its exports to Brazil to $1b and the country should use its bargaining levers for easing exports to Brazil.

He said the chamber is working to hire chartered 60,000-ton ships for import of livestock inputs and to serve the importers.

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