Iran and Kazakhstan expand trade and cooperation

Solico Group, an Iran-based food manufacturer, is set to assist Kazakhstan in establishing factories for French fries, baby food and cheese. The two countries have also arranged to expand trade in agricultural products. All of these arrangements were reached during an Iran-Kazakhstan forum in Tehran last week, as reported by Kazakhstani Ministry of Agriculture, which emphasized that the trade volume between the two countries increased by 12.3% to $340 million last year.

According to the country’s Ministry of Trade, which also took part in the event, Kazakhstan and Iran signed 10 commercial agreements worth $92.8 million. Moreover, Kazakhstan is ready to supply the Iranian market with 75 types of goods, totaling $250 million.

For instance, Kazakhstan intends to boost exports of grain, meat, confectionery and vegetable oil to Iran. Notably, last year, trade in agricultural products between the two countries reached $220.1 million, marking a one-third increase compared to 2023.

«We are interested in promoting exports of grain, meat products, vegetable oils and confectionery to the Iranian market. We also share an interest in creating joint ventures, as well as express our readiness to accelerate the transit of agricultural products through Iran to Gulf countries,» said Ermek Kenzhehanuly, Kazakhstani deputy minister of agriculture.   

In particular, Kazakhstan is working on expanding the supply of grain legumes and barley to Iran. The scope of interest also includes exports of sheep meat, livestock, as well as 500,000 tons of sunflower oil and grist. To achieve this goal, Kazakhstan is going to rely on Iranian ports, which will further serve as a gateway for Kazakhstani exporters to access Gulf nation markets.

In turn, Iran has pledged to accelerate the process of issuing veterinary certificates and to boost its export of agricultural products to Kazakhstan. The two countries also aim to benefit from Iran’s transit potential by exporting Kazakhstani flour to the global market via the Bandar Abbas port.

In addition, Aitmukhamed Aldazharov, head of QazTrade, a trade policy development center in Kazakhstan, proposed establishing a partner office of the National Institute for Promotion of Goods and Services Exports of Kazakhstan in Tehran. The official believes that this will facilitate the process of finding new partners and promoting Kazakhstani products in the Iranian market.

On top of that, Iran and Kazakhstan agreed to collaborate on the introduction of water-saving technologies in agriculture. The governments are also considering implementing joint projects in farming sturgeons and salmonid fish, as well as in fish feed production.