Iran Ambassador to Tanzania, Hussein Behineh told The Citizen over the weekend that during the said fiscal year, goods worth $35 million, equivalent to Sh82.25 billion, were imported from Tanzania.

Dar es Salaam. Iran imports from Tanzania increased by 35 percent in the 2021/22 fiscal year compared to the 2019/20 financial year, according to the Iranian envoy.

Iran Ambassador to Tanzania, Hussein Behineh told The Citizen over the weekend that during the said fiscal year, goods worth $35 million, equivalent to Sh82.25 billion, were imported from Tanzania.

He said during the same period, Iran exported to Tanzania goods worth $95 million (about Sh223.25 billion).

The volume of exports equals an increase by 15 percent when compared to exports made between 2018 and 2020.

Mr Behineh was speaking at the Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF) .

The theme of this year’s exhibition is “Tanzania is your best destination for business and investment.”

“The volume of trade between the two countries significantly increased in 2021/22 as compared to the preceding year. This is because for many years Iranians have been considering Tanzania the gateway to East Africa,” he said.

He said Iran has the potential of expanding exports to $2 billion which is equal to Sh4.7 trillion in the sales of oil products, fertiliser, iron and steel, medical equipment, chemicals, cereals and flour among others.

“In the area of pharmaceuticals, Tanzania has in 2021 imported $459 million (Sh1.079 trillion) from different parts of the world, while Iran has exported $104 million (Sh244.4 billion) worth pharmaceutical products,” he said

The envoy said that Iran has a great potential in the pharmaceutical industry, noting that there was a huge possibility of widening import and export volumes despite trading informally.

He said Iran was expected to import $500 million goods from Tanzania including minerals, vegetables, cereals, oil seeds, coffee, tea, fruits, iron ore and tobacco.

“Trade involving individuals from the two countries has a long history back to the presence of Shirazes in the East African region, especially Dar es Salaam and the auspicious Island of Zanzibar,” he said.

“The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tanzania is ready to develop and strengthen relations between the two countries by connecting business communities from the countries,” he added.

According to him, the two years marks the 41st years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Source » thecitizen