Iran Considering Extensive Fruit Exports to Russia
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Islamic Republic of Iran is mulling the potential for extensive fruit exports to Russia, the Iranian Minister of Agricultural Jihad said.
Speaking in a visit to the country’s pavilions at the 16th Russian agricultural exhibition “Golden Autumn – 2014” in Moscow, Mahmoud Hojjati highlighted Iran’s agricultural capabilities and said Tehran mulls exporting fruits and agricultural products to Russia.
Hojjati is currently on a visit to Moscow to attend the third meeting of agriculture ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states.
A delegation of Iranian agricultural experts and businessmen in the field of agricultural products are accompanying Hojjati, who is scheduled to hold talks with his Russian counterpart on the sidelines of the SCO meeting on agricultural cooperation between the two countries.
Russia annually imports between 7 to 10 billion dollars worth of fruits and dried fruits mainly from European countries.
But with sanctions imposed by the US and EU on Russia over the developments in Ukraine, Moscow has introduced restrictions on fruit imports from European countries.
Tensions between Russia and the West heightened after Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea joined the Russian Federation following a referendum in March.