Ukraine is a viable source for Iran’s grain and nut imports, says head of Iran-Ukraine Joint Trade Council.
Due to its large-scale grain production, and vast fields of wheat and other food products, Ukraine has been nicknamed “the food basket of Europe”, ISNA quoted Sadina Abaei as saying.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Ukraine produced 25% of all agricultural output in the former Soviet Union. Today, the country exports grain, vegetables, sugarbeet, sunflower seeds, milk and meat to Russia, the European Union, China, Turkey and the US.
Tehran and Kiev have lately set the target of expanding bilateral ties from the current $300 million to $2 billion per year and to this end agricultural cooperation can play a major role.
Iran is drafting a list of strategic items such as oilseeds and grains, which will be discussed with Ukraine for preferential tariffs. The two sides have also started cooperation in Iran’s land outsourcing programs called Farming Beyond Borders.
In mid-September, Isfahan Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine’s Kherson and Donetsk provinces to lease arable land and cultivate crops to meet domestic demand.
