TEHRAN, Iran, Aug. 14
Trend:
The Deputy General Manager at Irans Trade representative office of the Ministry of industry, mine, and trade addressed the Eurasian Economic Union's impact on the increase in the share of Iran's exports to global markets.
Referring to the recent negotiations with five Eurasian Union member states to sign a trade agreement with Iran, Mirhadi Seyedi said, the implementation of Iran's preferential trade agreement with Eurasia began in 2019, Trend reports citing IRNA.
He went on to say that Iran prioritizes signing the free trade agreement with Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).
"After the signing of the preferential trade agreement, tariffs for 860 items of goods were reduced," he said.
"Half of the world's goods are exchanged with low or even zero exchange tariffs," Seyedi noted adding that for Iran, except for the Eurasia Agreement, only five percent of the country's trade is done through a specific trade agreement.
He emphasized that the reduction in tariffs had a significant impact on increasing exports to the Eurasian Economic Union.
Seyedi called on planning to increase the volume of shipping with the Eurasian Countries to expand the export of goods, especially agricultural products.
"The necessary measures for maritime transport must be taken," he noted. "There is a need to modernize and increase the number of vessels on sea routes."
Referring to the export of preferred items he stressed that in the first quarter of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), there was a 46 percent increase in Iran`s exports compared to the same period last year, despite sanctions and the pandemic.
According to IRNA, in the first quarter of the current Iranian year (started on March 21), Iran exported $258 million worth of goods to EAEU and imported $347 million worth of goods.
Russia remains Iran's main partner in Eurasia with $135 million of export, followed by Kazakhstan with $38 million, Kyrgyzstan with $18 million and Belarus with $5 million dollars.
An assessment of Iran's exports to Russia and other Eurasian countries shows that fruits had the largest share with $95 million, out of which Iranian pistachios were the most popular commodity. Plastics, vegetables, cast iron, iron and steel are also other main items of Iran's exports to EAEU.