Iran’s Trade Ties With Latin America Reviewed

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to Latin America, besides political issues, can open new paths for Iran economically. 
Although Iran has commercial exchanges with several Latin American countries, Tehran does not have political relations with some countries in the region, yet during the visit, the Islamic Republic hopes to open new economic horizons, Rouhollah Latifi, the spokesman of the Iranian House of Industry, Mine and Trade’s Trade Development Commission, wrote for the Persian daily Ta’adol. A translation of his note follows:
Over 49,000 tons of non-oil products worth $118.1 million were exported to Venezuela in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20), 416% higher than the year before. This is while Iran did not have any exports to Cuba and Nicaragua during the year.
Iran’s imports from Venezuela amounted to 8 tons worth $816,000 and a total of 188,000 tons of goods worth $11.85 million were imported from Cuba. But Iran has not had any direct imports from Nicaragua in the past 10 years and no non-oil product has been exported by Iran to this country during the period.
Iranian exports to Venezuela increased during the 9th and 10th governments [under the presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] and reached $120.62 million in the fiscal 2013-14. But in the 11th government, we witnessed a decreasing trend as the figure reached $363,000 in the fiscal 2017-18. But in the final year of the 12th government [headed by Hassan Rouhani], it increased to $119 million, which declined to $23 million in the fiscal 2021-22. Exports to Venezuela increased by 416% to stand at $118 million in the fiscal 2022-23 (ended March 20).
Until the fiscal 2012-13, Iranian products were exported to Cuba annually but on a limited basis. But Iran did not have any export to this country from the fiscal 2013-14 to 2017-18. Only $60,000 worth of goods were exported to this country in the fiscal 2018-19 and after that, Iran has not had any export to Cuba. 
This is while imports from Cuba, which mainly includes medicine and medical equipment, have been underway in the past few years. The highest volume of imports during the past 12 years was registered in the fiscal 2018-19 with 60,000 tons worth $21.21 million.
Unfortunately, Iran has not had any non-oil trade with Nicaragua in the past decade and the president’s visit to this country is expected to mark the beginning of commercial interactions with Nicaragua.
In the framework of the 13th government [under presidency of Ebrahim Raisi] the policy of developing commercial and economic relations with untapped and new, regional and international markets under the framework of multilateralism, Raisi’s visit to Latin America can play a significant role in the expansion of commercial and economic relations and the export of techno-engineering services. 

*** Five-Day Latam Tour
Raisi landed in Caracas on June 12, the first stop of a five-day visit to Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. A high-ranking delegation comprised of ministers of foreign affairs, oil, defense and health is accompanying Raisi on the five-day tour.
During Raisi’s tour, Iran will sign various cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding with the three Latin American countries.
While in Caracas, Iran and Venezuela signed a host of agreements to boost mutual relations and announced a plan to increase the volume of bilateral trade to $20 billion.
The announcement came in a joint press conference attended by Raisi and his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas on Monday, after the top officials held bilateral talks, according to President.ir.
“The volume of trade exchanges between Iran and Venezuela will be increased to $10 billion in the first step, which can be raised to $20 billion in the second step,” Raisi said.
The agreements are aimed at expanding cooperation between Tehran and Caracas in many areas, including in the field of petrochemicals, as the two sides move to expand overall cooperation in the oil sector.
The documents will also help boost the two countries’ cooperation in such areas as information and communication technology, energy, insurance, marine transportation, higher education, agriculture, medicine, culture and mines.
Last June, Iran and Venezuela signed a 20-year partnership agreement aimed at bolstering bilateral cooperation in various fields during Maduro’s visit to Tehran.

IRICA on Trade With Latin America in FY 2022-23

Iran traded 655,526 tons of goods (excluding oil exports) worth $732.59 million with Latin American countries in the fiscal 2022-23, registering a 62.06% and 41.21% fall in terms of weight and value respectively, data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.
Iran exported goods to only 15 Latin American countries and imported from 11 of 33 Latin American countries during the period.
Trade with Brazil stood at 483,486 tons (down 64.51%) worth over $466.55 million (down 36.76%), for the Latin American country to top the list of Iran’s partners in the region. It was followed by Argentina with 71,085 tons (down 78.16%) worth $126.6 million (down 78.16%) and Venezuela with 49,175 tons (up 49.56%) worth $118.91 million (up 197.09%).
Iran’s exports totaled 241,421 tons worth $195.32 million in the year under review to register a 45.35% and a 7.79% decline in terms of weight and value year-on-year, respectively.
Venezuela topped the list of export destinations among Latin American states with 49,167 tons (up 50.18%) worth $118.1 million (up 415.76%). It was followed by Brazil with 139,039 tons (down 65.8%) worth $71.87 million (down 60.7%) and Argentina with 4,967 tons (up 723.25%) worth $2.05 million (up 59.2%).
Imports, which stood at 414,105 tons worth $537.27 million during the period under review, mainly came from Brazil and amounted to 344,446 tons (down 63.95%) worth $394.68 million (down 28.86%). Argentina followed with 66,117 tons (down 79.65%) worth $124.54 million (down 72.58%) and Cuba with 188 kilograms (down 75.3%) worth $11.85 million (up 1,289%).