Despite the return of US sanctions on Iran, importing soy pressed cake and oilseeds has increased to Iran. The main reason is the trade war between the US and China.
According to Animal Food Producer Association of Iran (AFPA), traditionally the American products have higher prices compared to other countries due to higher quality.
However, since the U.S. has increased tariffs on Chinese goods, China has started buying soy pressed cake from other countries. This has pushed prices up in Argentina, Brazil and Ukraine.
“Therefore, currently for Iranian traders, it makes sense to import such products from the US”, explains Majid Moafagh-Ghadiry, the Head of AFPA.
Over the first six months of this year, Iran has imported 1.5 million tonnes of oilseeds worth 782 million USD. This figure shows an increase of 30% with respect to a year ago.
Although the US has passed a law according to which import of foods and drugs to Iran are excepted from sanctions, Mr Ghadiry expects difficulties due to lack of proper banking channel.
“Banking problem with Iran has increased prices in several imported goods and we can expect such an increase in animal food as well”, says Mr Moafagh-Ghadiry.
There are further negotiations with other producers like Australia, India, South Africa regarding the import of animal foods, in case import from the US becomes harder in the future.