Rouhani Urges Putin to Ease Import of Iranian Agri-Products
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has called on his Russian counterpart to facilitate import of Iranian agricultural products on which Russia imposes heavy customs duty, an Iranian official said.
President Rouhani has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone about the “enhancement and facilitation of the export of Iranian food products to Russia,” head of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Mohsen Jalalpour, told Tasnim.
The president has urged Russia to “reconsider” the process of importing agricultural goods and food products from Iran, he added.
The telephone conversation took place at the request of Iran’s Agriculture Minister Mohammad Hojjati, he noted.
According to Jalalpour, the export of Iranian farm products to Russia is faced with restrictions even after years of trade ties.
He underscored that Iran has now a golden opportunity to increase the export of its agricultural products to Russia to replace Turkey.
Relations between Moscow and Ankara have nosedived since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian-Turkish border on November 24.
Russia imposed economic sanctions against Turkey afterwards, banning mainly the imports of agricultural products, vegetables and fruits from Turkey.
Elsewhere in his comments, Jalalpour complained about the high customs tariffs on Iranian exports, saying Russia imposes $7,500 tariff on every container of agricultural products imported from Iran, while it did not receive such duty from the Turkish goods.
