Iran will look at new sectors to increase its trade turnover with South Africa after the two countries concluded their 2019 negotiations at $100 million.
This figure is well short of the turnover target of $2 billion.
These “great capacities”, as he called them, unfortunately remain untapped.
Consequently, the Chamber has once again formed the Iran-South Africa Joint Economic Committee at the request of the two countries’ businessmen,” Karbasi said.
Trade relations between South Africa and Iran have been strong in the past, with the Gulf state topping the list for crude oil exports to South Africa in 2007.
Unfortunately trade between the two countries has dropped dramatically over the last decade, Karbasi said.
"Distance is one of the main reasons that South Africa is not a competitive market for Iranian businesses”.
It’s a problem that “must be resolved with economic solutions”, he said. – Bjorn Vorster
Commenting on the latest figures, Mohammad Reza Karbasi from Iran’s Chamber of Commerce said there were still many unexplored markets for the two countries, particularly in agriculture, raw minerals and the automotive sectors.
