Trade between Iran and Russia likely to touch new record

The trade turnover between Russia and Iran is likely to reach record-breaking US$4 billion as of 2021 year-end, Russian Trade Representative in Iran Rustam Zhiganshin told TASS.

"The turnover surged by 89.4% during the first eleven months against the like period of the last year and stood at US$3.76 billion. Grounds are in place to expect we will reach the record-high figure of US$4 billion as of 2021 year-end," the trade representative said.

"Agricultural produce account for about 80% in the trade turnover between the countries," Zhiganshin said. "Grains and oil-bearing crops moved up in our export in the first instance," he said. "Export of vaccines can be noted among new positions - our relevant supplies to Iran totaled US$45 million," he said.

"Implementation of certain projects in the energy sphere is underway, which became more active in 2021. This backed the turnover growth over the last year," Zhiganshin noted. "Vegetables, fruits, dried fruits and nuts are imported from Iran in the first instance," he said.

Also, the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) announced last week that the value of trade between Iran and Russia rose 41% in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2021), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

Head of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) Alireza Peyman Pak has stressed the need for establishing export consortia between Iran and Russia for accelerating mutual trade under the framework of the agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Peyman Pak made the remarks in a meeting with the Russian Ambassador to Tehran Levan Dzhagaryan Back in November 2021.

In this meeting, major Russian companies were introduced to the Iranian side to cooperate in various sectors including production, trade, and export, while the issue of extraterrestrial cultivation and establishing joint plants for food processing were also discussed.

The need for cooperation between the two countries to facilitate the transit of goods and the removal of customs barriers by the Russian side as well as facilitating the issuance of visas to traders and drivers were also among the issues discussed in the meeting.

Iran-Eurasian Economic Union trade reported at US$1.4 billion in 8 months

The value of non-oil trade between Iran and members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) were US$1.4 billion during the first eight months of the current Iranian calendar year (March-November 2020) as per data released by Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA). Trade with Eurasia accounted for 2.8% of the country’s total non-oil trade in the mentioned period.

According to details, Iran exported 1.8 million tons of commodities worth US$639 million to the EAEU members in the period under review, registering a 20% fall in terms of weight and a 6% decline in terms of value. The country’s trade with its Eurasian partners declined 11% as compared to the previous year’s same eight-month period.

During this time span, Iran's exports to Russia and Belarus increased significantly in terms of weight and value, while exports to three other countries, namely Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan, decreased.

Eurasian destinations accounted for only 2.4 percent of Iran’s total exports in the first eight months of the current year, according to the said data.

Among Eurasian trade partners, Russia was Iran's top export destination with US$285 million, followed by Armenia with US$233 million worth of imports from the Islamic Republic, while most of Iran's imports also came from Russia (US$727 million).

Iran and Eurasian Economic Union reached a free trade agreement in October 2018 based on which about 862 commodity items were subjected to preferential tariffs. The interim agreement enabling the formation of a free trade area between Iran and the EAEU was signed on May 17, 2018, and officially came into force on October 27, 2019.

Iran is a very important market in the region and the development of ties with this country is of high significance for the EAEU members (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan).

The free trade agreement between Iran and the Union has laid the ground for the expansion of trade ties between the two sides.

The agreement with the bloc has increased Iran’s exports to the EAEU member states significantly, which is a turning point for the Islamic Republic's plans for boosting non-oil exports during the US sanctions.