Brazilian exports to Iran have exceeded US$ 1 billion in 2004. This represents a third of all trade with the Middle East, according to the Brazilian Ambassador to Iran, Luiz Antônio Fachini.
The Ambassador, who took over the post on December 13, judges that there is still a lot of room for trade relations with Iran to grow.
“There is room to grow, because Iran is a country that possesses considerable resources; it is practically the second largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC),” Fachini observed.
Soybeans and soy derivatives are responsible for over half Brazil’s total exports to Iran. Brazil also sells meat and auto parts to that country.
According to the Ambassador, Petrobras – Brazilian Petroleum, S.A. – should open an office in Teheran, the Iranian capital, in January, 2005.
“At the moment, Petrobras already has a contract to produce petroleum in the Persian Gulf and should get underway with deep-water production,” Fachini affirmed.
The Ambassador referred to another business deal expected to become a reality in 2005: the construction of a Volkswagen of Brazil factory in Teheran.
Fachini explained that the factory will be built in partnership with the automobile manufacturing company’s German headquarters.
Translation: David Silberstein
Agência Brasil
