Page 18 - IRANRptSep19

Uzbek-Iranian trade up 40% in first half of 2019
Iran, Iraq agree to open three border markets
included Italy (€357.11mn), the Netherlands (€252.02mn), France (€167.94mn) and Belgium (€113.65mn).
These figures were up y/y by 5,561%, 2,114% and 845%, respectively. Imports sent to Iran included nuclear reactor parts, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts, whereas imports included plastics, grains, industrial machinery, oils, cosmetics, and paper and paper pulp.
German exports to Iran fell by 48% to $759mn in the first half of this year and Iran's sales to Germany for the same period dropped 43% to $123mn, according to the BGA (Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trade) trade association. "German companies are forced to choose between their market activities in Iran and the United States, so it's clear which market is preferred," the BGA trade association told Reuters.
Bilateral trade between Uzbekistan and Iran in the first half of this year stood at $213.8mn, up by 40% y/y, according to the Uzbek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Trade between the two near-neighbours has expanded since Uzbek President Shavkat Mirzayoyev came to power in late 2016 following the death of long-time ruler Islam Karimov. Iran, which already had established banking connections with Uzbekistan via its Bank Saderat branch in Tashkent, has exploited the readily available opening to increase trade transactions.
In April 11, an Uzbek-Iranian trading house was opened in Tehran - the trading house showcases goods produced in Uzbekistan.
Tashkent has previously said that in 2018 Iran was the biggest buyer of Uzbek cotton .
Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s most populous nation, with 32.8mn people compared to Iran’s 82.5mn.
Iran and Iraq have agreed to open three border markets in the pursuit of more bilateral trade, Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) has announced.
Iraq is the biggest buyer of Iranian products both on official and unofficial markets, while Iran uses Iraq as a workaround for foreign products it desires to import but cannot bring in directly because of sanctions. Re-exports to Iran from Iraq have long been used to make available to Iranians items such as Kia, Hyundai and Samsung products. Meanwhile, contraband trade between the two continues apace. The majority of alcohol smuggled into Iran arrives via Iraqi Kurdistan.
“The Iranian and Iraqi governments have agreed to establish three commercial centres at three points on their joint border. One centre will be set up on the border of [Iran’s] Kermanshah Province with Iraq,” said Keyvan Kashefi, president of the Kermanshah Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (KRCCIMA).
He noted that of Iran’s $9bn of exports to Iraq annually, Kermanshah’s share stood at around $3bn.
According to Kashefi, who is also a member of the board of governors of ICCIMA, KRCCIMA was considering exporting raw materials to Iraq and setting up more joint ventures with Iraqi business people.
He spoke after a meeting with a business delegation of Iraq’s Babil Chamber of Commerce in Kermanshah.
Iran and Iraq are targeting an increase in their bilateral annual trade volume to $20bn.
Sadiq Hashem Fazil, president of the Babil Chamber of Commerce, described how Iranian entrepreneurs set up factories in Iraq, creating jobs for Iraqis and giving them access to customs exemptions on re-exports.
18 IRAN Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com