Plans are underway to boost petrochemical export to South American markets, including Brazil and Argentina, managing director of Petrochemical Commercial Company said.
"One of the biggest hurdles against reaching out to South American markets is high shipping costs," Mehdi Sharifi Niknafs was quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency on Monday.
"However, supply costs can be reduced by half under certain swap agreements, such as import of agricultural and livestock products in exchange for petrochemicals," he added.
Iran, one of the world's top oil producers, exported around $14 billion worth of petrochemicals in 2014, down from more than $18 billion in 2011.
Niknafs noted that Tehran and Brasilia have established a joint enterprise in Brazil to facilitate the export of petrochemicals to the South American country.
North African countries are also potential buyers of Iran's petrochemicals in the post-sanctions period.
Petrochemical output reached 51 tons at the end of the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan (2006-11) and the volume is expected to rise to 62 million tons in the present Iranian year ending March 19, 2016.
The country's petrochemical production capacity is anticipated to reach 129 million tons per year by 2021, generating an estimated $40 billion in annual revenues.
