Iran-Georgia trade expected to double by yearend: Senior businesswoman
By Sadeq Dehqan &
Reza Abesh Ahmadlou
Staff writers
Tahereh Soleimani, the head of the Commerce and Marketing Commission of the Iran-Georgia Chamber of Commerce said that bilateral trade between the two countries is expected to double by the end of 2024.
She put Iran’s export to Georgia in 2023 at over $220 million, adding that the country imported about $30 million worth goods from the Caucasian country last year.
“Iran’s share of Georgian market is expanding, and on the other hand, Georgians are also interested in participating in the Iranian market,” Soleimani stated, noting that the two countries have trade exchanges in the field of agricultural products, food and clothing.
Pointing to the visit of Georgian business delegations to Iran, she said as Georgian delegations get familiar with Iran’s capabilities, their view of Iran changes completely as a result of the paved ground in the country for doing business.
“Holding various commercial and economic exhibitions in Iran is a good opportunity to introduce Iran’s economic opportunities to businessmen and economic representatives of different countries.”
Soleimani pointed out some weak points of Iran in the field of trade and said our producers are not usually successful in introducing their products and capabilities international markets, so in this regard sending them to foreign exhibitions or holding domestic exhibitions can help solve the problem.
She went on to say that today, some of our neighboring countries, owing to better introduction and marketing of their products, have succeeded in taking over many of our foreign markets.
Pointing to extraterritorial cultivation by the Caucasian state, the senior businessperson said Georgia is engaged in the cultivation of crops such as summer vegetables and vegetables in south of Iran, and they send the cultivated crops directly to Georgia.
Georgia does not share a border with Iran, and trade between the countries has been comparatively modest. Tbilisi and Tehran have maintained stable relations throughout the years.
Iran has floated the idea of closer economic ties in the past, including by supplying Iranian gas to Georgia through Armenia, but those efforts have not resulted in concrete agreements. Even so, state data shows that gas imports to Georgia from Iran soared by more than 600 percent in 2023. If the two countries are indeed preparing to pursue closer relations, energy supplies are a likely catalyst.