TEHRAN- The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) has removed tariff rates for the import of 10 Iranian products, according to the head of the Iranian National Union of Agricultural Products.

Reza Nourani said that the Eurasian Economic Union in a letter sent to the Trade Promotion Organization of (TPO) of Iran stated that it has removed the import tariffs for 10 Iranian products, Mehr news agency reported.

These products, subjected to import tariffs by the union, include potatoes, onions, garlic, cabbages, carrots, peppers, fruit juices, wheat, black grains, long-grain rice, and baby food, he added.

Removing tariff rates for Iranian products by Eurasian Economic Union while the country is under sanctions and grappling with the outbreak of coronavirus will increase export and production, Nourani emphasized.

Turning to the required infrastructures, the official said, “Refrigerated containers should be added for increasing export. Unfortunately, we lack refrigerated containers for rail export and/or these refrigerated containers should at least be purchased or rented by Russia and Turkey.”

The value of trade between Iran and the members of the EAEU reached $1.489 billion in the five-month period after the implementation of the preferential trade agreement on October 27, 2019, IRNA reported last week.

According to the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA), Ruhollah Latifi, 67 percent of the mentioned figure has been the share of Iran’s imports and 33 percent was gained from exports.

The official put the weight of the exports to the EAEU countries at 1.15 million tons with a value of $489.9 million, while the imports from the zone were 2.95 million tons at the value of $999.3 million.

He further noted that the preferential exports of Iran to the EAEU zone have been 123,960 tons with a value of nearly $136 million, while the preferential imports stood at 2.38 million tons with a value of nearly $750 million.

Iran’s biggest export destination among the EAEU countries has been Russia which accounted for about 50 percent of the total trade with the region.

Armenia and Kazakhstan occupied the second and third places with 24.6 percent and 16 percent shares, he said.

The biggest EAEU exporter to Iran has also been Russia, accounting for 71.4 percent of EAEU export to Iran followed by Kazakhstan and Belarus, according to the official.

Iran’s exports to the EAEU members were mainly fresh apples, fresh and dried pistachios, liquefied natural gas, fresh kiwis, cucumbers and fermented cucumbers; and the main preferential-tariff goods exported to the zone has been kiwis, fresh pistachio, dried grapes, lettuce, cauliflower, and broccoli.

The main imported items from the EAEU zone have been barley, livestock corns, sunflower seed oil, meat, and newsprint.

After several years of negotiations, Iran and Eurasian Economic Union finally reached a free trade agreement in 2018 based on which about 862 commodity items are subject to preferential tariffs.

The interim agreement enabling the formation of a free trade area between Iran and the EAEU was signed on May 17, 2018, and officially came into force on October 27, 2019.

Iran is a very important market in the region and the development of ties with this country is of high significance for the EAEU members (Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan).

The free trade agreement between Iran and this union has laid the ground for the expansion of trade ties between the two sides.