TEHRAN – Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) has held a webinar on Iran-Russia trade opportunities and the challenges facing Iranian traders in the Russian market, TPO announced on Thursday.

The online event was attended by TPO officials including Behrouz Olfat, director of the TPO’s Europe and America Department, former commercial attaché to Russia Farhad Parand, and representatives of some chambers of commerce as well as businessmen active in a variety of areas.

Russia's foreign trade with the world and Iran over the past five years, the opportunities of this $245-billion market from the imports prospective, and Iran’s position among the Russian trade partners were among the subjects explored in this webinar.

In this virtual meeting, Farhad Parand, who is currently the secretary of TPO’s Russian Trade Desk, described the economic and trade characteristics of Russia as one of the most important countries among Iran’s 15 neighbors and underlined its important role in the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU).

Parand called on the Iranian traders to focus on exporting new products with high added value, such as chemical and plastic products, leather and shoes, clothing, medicine, construction materials, and knowledge-based products, in order to increase their two-percent share in the Russian market.

The official mentioned lack of centers for direct supply of Iranian goods in Russia, lack of scientific and applied marketing strategies, banking problems, transportation and logistics problems, lack of proper knowledge about Russia’s regulations, laws, standards, health protocols, and consumer taste, as some of the issues hindering the development the Islamic Republic’s trade with Russia.

Further, in this virtual meeting, some strategies for identifying new markets in Russia and diversifying the products in the export basket to this country were discussed.

Iran and Russia have been expanding trade and economic ties over the past few years despite the pressures imposed by the U.S. sanctions on both nations.

Back in November 2020, the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (TCCIMA) hosted an Iran-Russia business forum via video conference.

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