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A Russian agricultural trade delegation, lead by Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk, and Deputy Agriculture Minister Maxim Borovoi has been in Tehran discussing a variety of agricultural trade and supply chain issues with Iran.
The two parties discussed expanding the distribution channels for Russian agricultural products and food, including meat, confectionery and beverages on Tuesday (February 18), with Borovoi stating “We discussed expanding distribution channels for all products that are in our product range. In addition to grain, we could supply and increase volumes of meat, confectionery and beverages. We will have a follow up meeting of the Russia-Iran joint working group in April.”
The Union of Grain Exporters and Producers data indicate that Iran imported 2.8 million tonnes of grain from Russia from July 2024 to January 2025, inclusive, thereby placing third among the principal buyers of Russian grain.
Related to this, an accompanying delegation from the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) also held talks with Iranian partners on cooperation in the Eurasian Agroexpress project, with Vladimir Serpikov, Director of the EEC Trade Policy Department, saying “We have invited our Iranian partners to discuss the principles of a green corridor for transit deliveries within the framework of the Eurasian Agroexpress project, increasing the cargo base in the Iran-EAEU direction, as well as raising awareness among the Iranian business community about the project and the opportunities it offers. We emphasized product digitization, including the use of navigation seals and QR codes for cargo, as well as in the construction of new transport and logistics centres.”
The Eurasian Agroexpress is aimed at developing exports of agricultural products from Eurasian Economic Union member states (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia) to China, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and other countries of South-East and Central Asia using regional transport infrastructure. In February 2023, Agroexpress was scaled up to cover the INSTC.
Mohammad-Sadegh Ghanadzadeh, the deputy head of the Iranian Trade Promotion Organisation, , said he supported cooperation intensification and expressed his readiness to start resolving the issues identified by the EAEU. Russia and Iran stressed the need to simplify customs procedures and to provide information to participants in foreign economic activities through a digital service. They agreed to consider relevant issues at the meetings of the Subcommittee on Cooperation in the Field of Transport and Transit, which will be created as part of the implementation of the free trade agreement between the EAEU and Iran.
That has coincided with Russian plans to create a transport and logistics hub in Iran’s southern coastal region on the Persian Gulf from 2027, according to Roman Chekushov, the Russian State Secretary and Deputy Industry and Trade Minister, who said “My colleagues and I have looked at various options, including in Bandar Abbas, though this is still at the planning stage. This is a complex task that depends on fully completing the North-South corridor. It makes no sense to set up a hub today, as we need the relevant freight traffic, railway infrastructure, a route network, and so on. However we are looking into this development.”
Russia’s new International Cooperation and Export project is tasked with creating Russian industrial and logistics infrastructure overseas, with the Iranian plans part of these developments. Other considerations are in Turkiye and routes across North Africa to the Middle East.
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