Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.29
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Although sanctions on Iran's petrochemical industry have been eased, exports to Europe have not increased.
National Iranian Petrochemical Company official Ali-Mohammad Bassaqzadeh said that easing of the sanctions have not been that effective on facilitating petrochemical exports to Europe, Iran's ISNA news agency reported Oct. 29.
Due to higher transportation costs and money transfer problems to Europe, we prioritize petrochemical exports to Asia and Africa, he noted.
China, India, South Korea, as well African and American countries are the main buyers of Iranian petrochemical products, he said.
Ahmad Mahdavi, the director general of the Petrochemical Employers Association said Aug. 2 that Iran does not have excess capacity for petrochemical exports to European markets.
Currently Iran exports its petrochemical goods to European countries on a limited level as single shipments, Mahdavi said.
In April, Iranian officials announced that some European countries including Italy, Spain and Greece have resumed imports of petrochemical products from Iran.
Iran's oil and petrochemical exports have increased following some sanctions relief on the Islamic Republic, including the EU and US bans on the country's petrochemical exports.
Above 40 million metric tons of petrochemical products were produced in Iran during the last fiscal year in the country, which bring $9 billion in income for Iran.