Russia is seeking to increase its import of agricultural products from Iran’s northern Caspian provinces in view of the western sanctions imposed against Moscow.
In a meeting with Mazandaran Province’s merchants and officials last week, president of Russia’s Astrakhan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Victor Ivonvich Vinokourov said Russia needs to import quality agricultural products from Iran.
“We need all sorts of agricultural products from Mazandaran,” he said during his visit to the northern province on Monday, heading a group of Russian business owners and traders, IRNA reported.
The Russian delegation also paid a visit to Golestan Province on Tuesday to interact with the local traders.
According to Vinokourov, a center called ‘Silk-Road Trade House’ has been established by Astrakhan chamber of commerce to facilitate direct interaction between Iranian producers and their Russian counterparts. The center provides a wide range of services related to inspection, insurance, customs and transportation, helping clients in obtaining permits and certificates.
The president of Iran-Russia Chamber of Commerce Asadollah Asgaroladi, in a meeting with Astrakhan delegation last week, said the two sides need to make efforts to increase to more than one billion dollars.
To this end, he said obstacles to transportation and financial transactions, obtaining entry visa for Iranian traders, absence of direct flights and Russia’s discriminatory trade tariffs on imports from Iran should be resolved.
Astrakhan is a city in southern European Russia, located on the bank of Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea. Astrakhan Port is one of the two major Russian ports which are part of the North-South Corridor, the other one being Ola port. Astrakhan Port is situated close to Russia’s national rail and highway networks, thereby enabling cargo transit via truck or rail to Europe.
