Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture

Iranian exporters urged to move beyond single-product exports to Africa

Iranian trade and foreign ministry officials called for a more coordinated export strategy to increase the country’s share of African markets, arguing that exporters should offer integrated packages of construction materials rather than relying on single-product sales.

Ali-Asghar Beigi, head of the Trade Facilitation and Export Development Commission at the Yazd Chamber of Commerce, said the central province was assessing opportunities to expand exports of ceramics and stone to Africa ahead of the upcoming Iran-Africa conference. He said many African countries are major importers of construction materials, giving Yazd an opportunity to increase its presence in the continent’s market. Beigi said the province’s manufacturing capacity in construction products could be showcased through a specialized construction materials panel at the conference. He added that financial transfers and transportation remained the main obstacles to expanding exports, noting that in some African countries, including Ethiopia, trade transactions can only be conducted through letters of credit, forcing Iranian exporters to rely on intermediary countries for payments. He expressed hope that closer cooperation between the private sector, government agencies and experienced business operators would help boost Yazd’s exports to African markets. Separately, Esmail Razzaghi, head of the Foreign Ministry’s Second Africa Department, said Iranian exporters’ biggest weakness in Africa was their limited understanding of local markets and the lack of a clear market-entry strategy. He said expanding exports would require moving beyond a single-product approach toward offering integrated product portfolios and building partnerships with African traders. Razzaghi said competitors such as China, Turkey and India had entered African markets with broader supply-chain strategies, while many Iranian exporters continued to focus on individual products. He urged exporters to market comprehensive construction packages, including ceramic tiles, stone, cement and plaster, to strengthen Iran’s competitiveness across the continent.
Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture

Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture

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