TEHRAN – Iran’s Agriculture Minister Javad Sadatinejad has said that the country expects to earn some $2 billion from exports of dairy products to China in the next two years as part of recent bilateral agreements that will lead to an increase in Iranian agrifood exports to the east Asian country.
Sadatinejad said that the country had secured an agreement with China under which Iranian dairy companies can launch exports to the country for the first time.
Sadatinejad said the agreement was finalized during a visit last week by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to China and was part of a larger food diplomacy understanding to expand agriculture cooperation with Beijing.
He said China will also start importing apples from Iran under the deal signed last week, adding that some 100,000 metric tons of Iranian apple shipments will be exported to China under the first phase of the agreement.
The minister said Iranian agrifood exports to China had reached some $350 million in the 10 months to late January, adding that the figure was a fivefold increase compared to export figures reported four years ago.