Page 29 - IRANRptOct22

Barter deal to provide Russia with gas turbines, auto parts and Iran with steel
Iran plans to introduce barter trading with African nations
Moscow and Tehran have struck a barter deal under which Russia will provide Iran with steel and the Iranians will supply the Russians with gas turbines, automotive parts for cars and components for other equipment, Vedomosti reported on June 1.
The Russian daily cited Iranian Trade and Industry Minister Reza Fatemi Amin as announcing the agreement.
Iran stands to benefit from Ukraine war sanctions on Moscow that hinder or prevent certain import flows to Russia that Iranian suppliers can replace. Tehran has also expressed interest in importing lead, zinc and alumina from Russia due to growing domestic demand, Fatemi Amin was also reported as saying.
The largest Russian steel producers are NLMK , Evraz, MMK, Severstal, Metalloinvest, OMK and Mechel. A major Russian producer of zinc and lead is UMMC. For alumina, UC Rusal is a key provider.
According to FINAM, Iran ranks 10th in the world for steel production with a global market share of around 1.5%, while Russia ranked fifth prior to the late February start of the war in Ukraine, with a share of about 4%.
Sanctions have not yet been imposed against the Russian non-ferrous metallurgy sector, but much of the global market has turned cold on cooperating with most Russian businesses.
Iran, the most sanctioned country in the world prior to the wave of sanctions that hit Moscow in relation to the Ukraine conflict, has no compunction as regards trade and investment with Russia as it attempts to prop up its own economy, severely undermined by years of US sanctions. Though it has called on Russia and Ukraine to achieve a peace at the negotiating table, Tehran has not condemned the Russian invasion, saying Nato bears much responsibility for creating a situation that sparked the conflict.
Iran is planning to set up barter trading with trade partners in Africa.
“Given the implementation of the [Iranian] Trade Facilitation Organisation's barter trade mechanism with several countries, we hope to benefit from this platform with African trade partners as well,” Ahmad-Reza Alai Tabatabaei, deputy head of Iran's Trade Promotion Organisation (TPO), with responsibility for export market development said.
TPO has prepared a list of 1,100 items that could be included in barter trading with African countries, Tabatabaei added.
Export infrastructure available for trade with Africa has been improved, while the presence of Iranian trade attaches in Africa has been strengthened, he also said.
Ghana is currently top-ranked for Iranian exports to Africa. Second is South Africa and third is Nigeria, Alai Tabatabaei said, without presenting figures. The biggest difficulty when it came to Iranian business people dealing with Africa was a lack of knowledge of the various countries with trade potential and unfamiliarity with their markets, observed the official. Insufficient maritime transport infrastructure was also a problem, he added.
“The establishment of regular shipping lines, which we have recently observed in East Africa and which need to be strengthened, should also be carried out and regulated in West Africa. By allocating transport subsidies, we are trying to regulate these lines. So that traders can capitalise on the opportunities,” Alai Tabatabai said.
Referring to Iran's great potential in the field of technical and engineering services, he said: "African countries are among the most important importers of technical and engineering services in the world, and fortunately, Iran has become more advanced in this field in recent years."
29 IRAN Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com