The US imposition of tariffs on grain exports is one of the risks we have faced in recent months, because before entering the White House, Trump had threatened to impose tariffs on many countries, including China, and we are finally witnessing Trump imposing tariffs on goods from China, Canada, Brazil, and the European Union.
China is the largest consumer of American agricultural goods, and now that China and the United States have imposed tariffs on each other’s goods, China has been forced to source its goods from other countries, which will put additional pressure on Iranian suppliers. For example, most large shipments of grains and oilseeds are loaded from Brazil, and a large share of Iranian oilseed products are sourced from Brazil. However, if we are to compete with the Chinese in the Brazilian market, apart from the risk of price increases, the process of collecting goods will also become difficult, and this will be a risky and dangerous point for Iranian supplier groups.
Currently, given the opportunities available in the transportation infrastructure sector between Iran and Russia, large investments have been made by Iran and Russia in the shipping and railway lines, ports, and warehouses and storage, which will lead to increased partnership between the two countries; however, Iran has faced a new challenge of unfair sanctions on some infrastructure. Unfortunately, for the first time since September 10th, 2024, two of Iran’s northern ports (Anzali and Amirabad Ports) have been included in the sanctions list (ports whose main activity is in the field of basic goods and grains). With the imposition of these sanctions, shipowners of supplier companies have taken advantage of this issue and increased their shipping rates.
