Agriculture

Rubicon Water

Industry
Agriculture
Country
Australia
Sources

Trade Minister Steven Ciobo is leading a business delegation to Iran this week in a bid to secure an early advantage for Australian companies looking for deals as the market of 80 million people re-enters the global economy. Mr Ciobo saidthe lifting of punitive sanctions following a deal to restrict the scope of Tehran’s nuclear aspirations meant there was “significant potential” from an Iranian re-engagement with the international community. The trade mission to Tehran is the first to the Islamic republic by an Australian trade minister since 2002, and follows the trip by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in April in which she sought to recalibrate the relationship and persuade Tehran to take back hundreds of Iranian asylum-seekers. Mr Ciobo will use his visit to talk about trade with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Nematzadeh, and reopen Austrade’s office in Tehran to help Australian companies in doing business in the $US393 billion ($515bn) economy. Executives from GrainCorp, WorleyParsons, LiveCorp, Oil Search, Qantas, Sydney University and Rubicon Water will travel with Mr Ciobo tomorrow. (The Australian, "Steven Ciobo heads to Tehran to get jump on trade rivals ," 9/25/2016).

GrainCorp

Industry
Agriculture
Symbol
ASX: GNC
Country
Australia
Sources

"Iran and Australia have signed fresh agreements to forge closer ties, with Australian Trade Minister Steve Ciobo announcing the dawn of a new age of relationship. Ciobo is leading a trade delegation of more than 20 companies to Tehran, seeking out opportunities, buoyed by the prospects in Iran's mining, oil and gas, and other industries as well as the near 80 million population...Representatives of Australia's flagship carrier Qantas Airways, global biotechnology company Cochlear, GrainCorp agribusiness company, Australian Livestock Export Corporation Ltd (LiveCorp) and the universities of Melbourne and Sydney are also tagging along..." (Press TV"Australia hails 'dawn of new age' in Iran ties," 9/28/2016). 

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Trade Minister Steven Ciobo is leading a business delegation to Iran this week in a bid to secure an early advantage for Australian companies looking for deals as the market of 80 million people re-enters the global economy. Mr Ciobo saidthe lifting of punitive sanctions following a deal to restrict the scope of Tehran’s nuclear aspirations meant there was “significant potential” from an Iranian re-engagement with the international community. The trade mission to Tehran is the first to the Islamic republic by an Australian trade minister since 2002, and follows the trip by Foreign Minister Julie Bishop in April in which she sought to recalibrate the relationship and persuade Tehran to take back hundreds of Iranian asylum-seekers. Mr Ciobo will use his visit to talk about trade with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Nematzadeh, and reopen Austrade’s office in Tehran to help Australian companies in doing business in the $US393 billion ($515bn) economy. Executives from GrainCorp, WorleyParsons, LiveCorp, Oil Search, Qantas, Sydney University and Rubicon Water will travel with Mr Ciobo tomorrow. (The Austrailian, "Steven Ciobo heads to Tehran to get jump on trade rivals," 9/25/2016).

Nidera

Industry
Agriculture, Trading
Value of USG Contracts
5
Value of USG Contract Source
https://www.fpds.gov/ezsearch/search.do?indexName=awardfull&templateName=1.4.4&s=FPDSNG.COM&q=nidera
Country
Netherlands
Sources

"Iran is about to open for business, and the world's grain traders are lining up. Food wasn't subject to sanctions, but the rules created enough difficulty to keep out many grain suppliers. Now, with world powers expected to lift restrictions as early as next year, new companies are entering the market... 'When the sanctions came in, you started to see some people shying off and not willing to take the risk anymore," Michel Dumoulin, a trader at Rotterdam-based Nidera BV, said by phone on Thursday... Nidera executives will travel to Iran this week to visit customers, according to Dumoulin... Nidera, majority owned by China's largest food company Cofco Corp., already ships as much as 3 million tons of grain and vegetable oils to Iran a year." (Bloomberg News, "Grain Traders Eye Business in Iran as Sanctions Set to Ease," 11/9/15)

Sunrice

Industry
Agriculture
Symbol
NSX: RGWB
Country
Australia
Sources

"The newly minted US-Iran nuclear deal will deliver an 'avalanche of trade' for Western businesses, predicts the boss of Australian agricultural giant Sunrice. Sunrice's sales to the Middle East have already surged 41 per cent to $141 million in the past 12 months, and chief executive Rob Gordon expects more growth to come as sales extend to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and even strife-torn Syria. 'The branded rice market across the Middle East in 2012 was worth $4 billion. And in 2017 we anticipate it will be worth $8 billion,' Mr Gordon said. 'We were obviously unable to supply that market fully when we were in the midst of our drought. But since we have had Australian rice to sell again we have re-established ourselves as the market leader.' Sunrice, Australia's last grain export monopoly, has almost doubled its market share in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to 60 per cent and 30 per cent respectively. Mr Gordon said the company had also sold rice "pretty much throughout" the Syrian civil war and has begun investigating Iran, which struck a deal with the US and five other world powers last month to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of trade sanctions. Mr Gordon said the agreement presented a significant opportunity for Western businesses, considering Iran's population of almost 80 million. 'This deal on the nuclear issue I think is likely to open up an avalanche of trade with Iran,' he said. 'We have done a few initial market soundings. I'm not flagging that we have got firm plans. I'm just saying … that it's a potential market for a lot of Western companies in the next year or two.'" (Sydney Morning Herald, "Sunrice eyes Iran after Middle East sales surge," 7/28/15)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nardi

Industry
Agriculture
Country
Italy
Contact Information
Sources

"An Italian producer of agriculture equipment is investing in Iran's northwestern Moghan which is a major hub in the country's food industry, local media report. The Nardi Group will soon open an office in Parsabad after its chief executive Virgilio Mazzardo visited the region to assess investment potentials, the IRNA news agency reported. He visited Moghan Agro-Industrial and Animal Husbandry Company (MAIAHC) and local farmlands, announcing interest in investment in the region, MAIAHC's president Orujali Mohammadi said. Mohammadi said the Italian company will initially produce agriculture machinery in Iran, with a vision to export them later." (Press TV, "Iran's major agricultural hub attracks Italians", 6/11/15)

United Grain Company

Industry
Agriculture
Country
Russia
Sources

"Moscow and Tehran are in talks on supplying Russian grains to Iran in exchange for oil, Andrey Gormakh, first deputy chief executive of Russia's state grain trader, United Grain Company, was quoted as saying on Tuesday. Russia and Iran have been discussing their oil-for-food deal since early 2014, but are yet to agree on details, highlighting the difficulties the two major energy producers face due to sanctions from the West. RIA news agency quoted Gormakh as saying that United Grain Company was ready to supply between 1 and 2 million tonnes of grain to Iran per year. That would be worth between $250 and $500 million, according to Reuters calculations based on the current price for Russian wheat. 'This question is being discussed at the working meeting, but we've not been informed of the solution to the financial question,' RIA quoted Gormakh as saying on the sidelines of a Russian-Iranian business forum in Tehran." (Reuters, "Russia may exchange grain worth $500 mln for Iranian oil," 9/9/14)

Rusagro

Industry
Agriculture
Symbol
VIE: AGRO
Country
Russia
Contact Information
Sources

“Russian company, Rusagro, has announced readiness to invest in Iran's Amirabad Port. Rusagro is one of the largest agriculture industry holding companies in Russia and the CIS. The holding's activity can be divided into sugar, meat, vegetable oil, and fats production. A representative of Rusagro paid a visit to Iran's northern Amirabad Port and said that conditions were provided for investment by the company in Amirabad, Iran's Mehr news agency reported on June 25.” (Trend, "Rusagro ready to invest in Iran’s Amirabad Port," 6/25/14)

Unifert

Industry
Agriculture
Country
Lebanon
Contact Information
Sources

“Unifert is one of the most prominent traders and distributors of fertiliser and seed and other agricultural supplies in the Middle East and North Africa region.” (Reuters)

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On its Company Website, Unifret lists reprentative office and an affiliate in Iran.

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"Belgian chemical firm Tessenderlo will ship fertiliser to Iran within weeks as the easing of Western financial sanctions has helped Tehran complete its first potash tender purchase in two years…In September, Iran's Agricultural Support Services Company (ASSC) issued a tender to buy 60,000 tonnes of potassium sulphate, its first for two years, according to its website. A Tessenderlo spokeswoman said the chemical producer won the tender and expected to deliver the first of two cargoes by the end of this month. Unifert, a Lebanese fertiliser trading firm with offices in Europe, Iran and across the Arab world, is executing the physical and financial transactions, sources close to the deal said. Though the tender was issued before the November political agreement, sources said that an improvement in ties after Rouhani's election in August had raised optimism. The easing of restrictions on Iran's banking system will facilitate trade and encourage future transactions, they said. ‘It is now easier and more workable on the banking side to seal deals now,’ a European trading source said. The fertiliser was priced at around 548 euros ($746) a tonne, including freight and insurance, market sources said.’ The tender was issued two or three months before the deal, so the demand was there anyway. However, the political environment makes it easier. It was the difficulties the Iranians had making transfers in hard currency that had restricted trade before,’ a source close to the deal said…Unifert is one of the most prominent traders and distributors of fertiliser and seed and other agricultural supplies in the Middle East and North Africa region." (Reuters, “Belgian firm sells fertiliser to Iran as sanctions ease,” 1/17/14)

Afegra

Industry
Agriculture
Country
Switzerland
Sources

"Geneva-based agricultural trader Afegra - an exporter of cereals to Iran until last year - is parting company with its managing director and its trading team, sources familiar with the matter said. Gert Bosscher, a former Glencore trader, has resigned as managing director, and a team of at least six traders will be made redundant this summer at Afegra, which was launched in 2010 and specialises in wheat, barley, corn and rice, the sources said. The company, which is privately owned, has issued no public statement. The sources said Afegra had lost a vital source of income after encountering difficulties with obtaining payment from Iran for agricultural deliveries, which were at least partly a result of Western financial sanctions aimed at Iran's nuclear programme... 'They (Afegra) were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They had the choice between making a delivery and not getting paid or making costly demurrage (shipping) payments,' said a senior source at a trading house. The departure of Afegra's trading team also points to the difficulties of small traders in competing with large, integrated rivals such as the so-called ABCD majors (Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus )... 'If you're small, you have to have some sort of foothold to be successful, either in the producing country or the destination market. They had a foothold in the destination market, Iran, but that didn't work out,' the source said... Afegra is still registered in Geneva, and the sources said it would continue to exist, although details of its future strategy were not immediately clear." (Reuters, "Swiss Firm Afegra Cuts Trading After Losing Iran Cereals Business," 6/20/2013)

Mewah Group

Industry
Agriculture
Symbol
SGX: MV4
Country
Singapore
Sources

"Nature International is one of the external distributors of the Group’s [Mewah] products in a number of markets, such as, Iran, Puerto Rico, Russia, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, as well as the USA. Nature International does not
manufacture, but instead purchases products from the Group for such distribution."

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"Wilmar International, the world's largest listed planter, and Mewah International, a $570 million edible oils processor - both listed in Singapore - are driving sales to Iran on long-term contracts, with Middle Eastern trading sources reporting premiums of up to $30 a tonne to the cash benchmark... Wilmar and Mewah dominate the trade with Iran where demand for high-value refined palm olein, used in cooking oil, can reach 500,000-700,000 tonnes a year. Wilmar sells to Saudi Arabian food company Savola, which buys palm oil to feed its edible oil processors in Iran, three Middle Eastern trading sources told Reuters...  Mewah last month shipped 75,310 tonnes of palm oil to Iran, its best month so far this year, shipping documents show.   'Mewah is the go-to person for Iran. It buys the palm oil from Malaysian firms and then sells it to Iran,' said a trading executive from a Malaysian plantation who deals with Mewah. 'They are established in the Iran trade and have deep pockets to withstand payment delays.'  Planters who have sent cargoes to Iran with Mewah include subsidiaries of IOI Corp, Kuala Lumpur Kepong and a Malaysian unit of Wilmar, cargo surveyor documents show. Officials at those companies declined comment... So far this year, shipping records show Mewah has exported 168,100 tonnes of palm oil from Malaysia to ports in Iran. Most cargoes are taken up by private Iranian buyers though state food procurement firm GTC is also an occasional buyer, traders said." (Reuters, "Beyond sanctions, Iran squeezed by higher edible oil costs," 4/29/2013)