Tehran, Iran, January 23
By Mehdi Sepahvand -- Trend:
Iran is set to crack down on tradesmen who export Turkish-made goods to Russia, Mohammad Reza Movadvedi, advisor to Iran's minister of industry, mines, and trade, said.
He said the move comes as a bid to protect the safety of business for Iranian producers and is mandated by Minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh, Mehr news agency reported January 23.
One of the punitive actions to be taken against such tradesmen is to revoke their permits, Movadvedi stated.
According to the official, in recent weeks some tradesmen have been importing goods from Turkey and exporting them to Russia, which comes more profitable for them than exporting Iranian-made goods.
He said these tradesmen not only risk being caught by Russian forces, but create a negative feeling with Russians toward imports from Iran.
Iran found a good opportunity to gain a larger share in the Russian market after relations between Moscow and Ankara deteriorated following the downing of Russia's Su-24 frontline bomber over Syria by a Turkish jet on November 24.
On November 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on economic measures against Ankara in retaliation for the downing of the Su-24 aircraft. The decree, which entered into force on January 1, 2016, included a food import ban on certain categories of products.
Iran exported $151 million worth of products to Russia between March and October last year. About $80 million of the amount fell to the share of agricultural products. In other words, agricultural products account for more than half of the value of exports from Iran to Russia.
Moscow recently granted four Iranian dairy factories with permissions to export products to Russia.