The mounting US pressure notwithstanding, Indian private petrochemical firms want to continue their trade and business with Iran’s petrochemical sector.
Bhavin Vora, head of a Indian private sector delegation to the 12th International Iran Plast Exhibition in Tehran, made this statement. He said 40 companies active in the polymer and plastics industry attended the event, NIPNA, the National Petrochemical Company's news agency, quoted him as saying.
"Iran and India have age-old commercial ties," he said, adding that the two sides have long been trading in a wide range of petrochemical, namely poly ethylene, poly propylene, poly vinyl chloride, poly styrene, polymer etc.
Vora noted that Iran has abundant natural gas deposits as feedstock because of which its petrochem industry has a good presence in international markets, especially in Asia and Europe.
The Indian merchant, who is CEO of a private company called Polymer Bazaar, noted that despite the sanctions against Tehran, there are Indian private enterprises that are interested in doing business with Iran and development of the southeastern port of Chabahar indicates that the two countries are determined in expanding trade ties.
Undeterred
“The US has made trade between the two sides uneasy but this is not something that can halt this bilateral relationship,” he added.
Chabahar Port is being developed as part of a new transportation corridor for land-locked Afghanistan. The port is expected to be operational next year. India is said to be providing a $3.5 million-equivalent bank guarantee for development of the port through the UCO Bank.
The four-day Iran Plast Exhibit ended on Thursday. It is one of the largest exhibitions of its kind in the Middle East in the field of raw materials, machinery and equipment, auxiliaries and services for plastics and rubber industries.
Representatives from 15 countries including Germany, Greece and South Korea were present.
Stefan Sullwald, sales manager of Gneuss —an international German plastic processing company—said they are continuing their Iran business via domestic partners.
"Iran's petrochem sector is booming and it is an ideal market for our machinery and equipment," he said, and expressed the hope that the two countries would be able to broaden collaboration.
Since its foundation in 1983, Gneuss, based in Bad Oeynhausen, has grown to become a worldwide technology leader for the extrusion of polymers and the reprocessing of the substance.
According to NIPNA, Greek and South Korean private delegates also expressed their readiness not only to import raw material from Iran but also share technical knowledge with their Iranian peers.
Yannis Haritakis, the production manager of Greek PLASTIKA KRITIS, one of the leading European producers of masterbatches and agricultural plastic films, told NIPNA that his firm is a major importer of raw material from Iran and expects the government in Athens to do its best to help ease financial transactions between the two sides.
"A closer look at the potential of Iranian market will give South Korean petrochemical businesses an idea of investment opportunities," Hyung-June Joo, the head of Samjin polytech, a producer of functional and color masterbatches, said, adding that the company is selling goods in Iran and is willing to cooperate with private companies.
"New US sanctions against will create difficulties, yet Samjin is planning to have an active presence in Iran by holding regular training sessions and transferring technical know-how to petrochem experts," he told the new agency.