Iran is likely to step up corn imports from Brazil, with a urea cargo about to set off for the South American country next week under a barter arrangement.
Iran sources 60% of its corn supplies from Brazil and the rest from Ukraine and Russia. It could import 100% of its needs from Brazil if the conflict between the east European neighbors persists, head of Iran-Brazil chamber of commerce, industry and agriculture Fakhreddin Amerian said Monday.
"The barter of urea as fertilizer with livestock input from Brazil starts next week when a urea shipment will be sent and corn will be imported in exchange," he told reporters.
Iran began sending test cargoes to Brazil, a new market for Iranian petrochemicals exports, in mid-2019 but the trade ran into trouble when Iranian vessels were stranded at Brazilian ports for weeks after state-run oil firm Petrobras refused to sell them fuel due to sanctions imposed by the US.
Last week, Brazil's Agriculture Minister Tereza Cristina traveled to Tehran where she signed an agreement for the barter of urea with corn.
Iran is currently exporting 400,000 tonnes of urea to Brazil a year, but they seek to raise it to 2 million tonnes, Agriculture Minister Javad Sadatinejad said.