"Iranian agricultural exports have a great potential that is not unfortunately exploited because of the sanctions, "said Mr. Hassan Ghobadi of the Iranian exporter Elishe. "Our mission is to solve this problem and meet the demand for Iranian produce. We have successfully reached our customers in Europe through our facilities in Dubai, where we also have foreign currency bank accounts", adds the exporter.
This season, Mr. Hassan is offering a wide range of fresh and dried fruits and vegetables: "I have citrus, persimmons, beets, onions, potatoes, and dates. In dried fruits, I have pistachios, dried figs, almonds, green grapes, and raisins, these are Iranian foods famous all over the world."
Mr. Hassan explains: "Our country has the specificity of having a very good climate of four seasons. We have unique varieties of fruits and vegetables, and we grow summer fruits throughout the year. All this gives us assets and very strong potential. However, this potential is waiting for the resolution of the political situation in Iran and the lifting of sanctions."
The situation have pushed Iranians to be self-sufficient in several fields, including agricultural packaging: "this has allowed us to gain good knowledge and experience, especially in producing packaging. In the field of branding also, good efforts have been made to export Iranian produce in bulk to other countries."
Currently, Iranian exporters are confined to doing business with countries that are politically and geographically close to Iran: "Most of the demand for our produce is due to the fact that we have close land and sea routes to our neighboring countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and CIS countries, as well as good political and economic relations with China and India."
Mr. Hassan continued: "But there is a big gap between what we can do and what has been achieved. Our supply is much more than the current demand. If we can focus more on our packaging and if Iran's political and economic conditions improve, we will be big players in the international fresh market."
In the meantime, Mr. Hassan reaches his customers by having opened offices in Dubai and Turkey "This allows us to legally do business worldwide, including Europe, and receive payments. As far as we are concerned, we are able to offer Iranian agricultural products to all destinations. We are currently looking for buyers and importers in African countries, Japan, and Korea".
For more information:
Hassan Ghobadi
Elishe
Tel: +98 9351782648
Email: [email protected]
www.elisheco.com