Speaking during a meeting in Iranian local chamber of Khorasan Razavi, Shafei said that one of the main hurdles on the way of trade with South America is costly transportation.
He referred to Iran’s chances for trade with Brazil and said that COVID curbs did not reduced trade ties with Brazil and exchanges between the two countries have even increased.
Iran imported some $1.7 billion of goods from Brazil over the first 10 months of 2021 while exporting only $116 million of goods to the country, Shafei said, urging the need for balancing trade between the two countries.
He reiterated the necessity for launching direct shipping lines between Iran and South America and a direct air line to Sao Paulo as well to solve the problem of transportation to the region.
Speaking during a seminar in Tehran on exploring the chances for trade between Iran and Brazil last week, Shafei called for examining the possibility of barter trade between the two countries.
He noted that the ground is prepared for barter trade so as to barter Iranian petrochemical products for Brazilian animal feed.
Iran-Brazil Joint Chamber of Commerce opened an office in Sau Paulo in late November 2021 to represent Iran’s private sector in the South American country.