Iran has good connections with its neighbors which provides a chance for the country to increase foreign trade and give a boost to exports, Hadi Tizhoush Taban, the head of Iran-Russia Joint Chamber of Commerce says.
Noting that most trade exchanges are made with neighboring countries throughout the world, he said that trade with neighboring countries reduce commercial costs and, as a result, allows providing cheaper products to markets, IRNA reported.
The neighboring countries know each other’s needs and capabilities as well and can therefore take steps to do barter trade or help provide the needs of the other side, Tizhoush Taban said.
He also referred to the high capacity for exports to the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU) member countries, saying, Iran can provide many needs of these countries.
Iran has exported some $258 million worth of commodities to EAEU member countries over the first quarter of the fiscal year (March 21-June22), importing some $347 million worth of commodities from the bloc.
Russia has the biggest share of imports from Iran among the EAEU member countries, importing some $135 million worth of commodities from Iran during the three-month period, followed by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus with 60, 38, 18, and 5 million dollars worth of imports from Iran respectively.
Speaking during a meeting of Iranian provincial chambers of commerce on Thursday, Tizhoush Taban said that Tehran and Moscow agreed on a green corridor system in 2016.
While Russia’s exports of agricultural raw materials to Iran have reached $6 billion, Iran has not been able to use all the capacities of the corridor, he said.
He noted that Iran’s failure to export agricultural products to Russia has been partly due to the economic activists’ lack of knowledge about the green corridor system.
Tizhoush Taban also referred to converting Astrakhan customs to a customs post, saying, “Many of our business dealings take place in Astrakhan. We ask the officials to negotiate so that Astrakhan would operate as an independent customs in Russia as before.”
After a common market was established in Astrakhan, the customs was degraded to a customs post, and this has delayed the clearance of Iranian goods, he said.