Page 100 - Ameft Journal 2021-III

Iran, in facts and figures • An energy superpower with the world’s largest natural gas supply and the fourth-largest proven oil reserves • With 85 million inhabitants the second most populous nation in the Middle East and the 17th most populous in the world • Leading industries in the Middle East in car-manufacture and transportation, construction materials, home appliances, food and agricultural goods, arma- ments, pharmaceuticals, information technology, power and petrochemicals • A regional power with major influence in the region • A top five producer in the world of apricots, cherries, sour cherries, cucum- bers and gherkins, dates, eggplants, figs, pistachios, quinces, saffron, walnuts, and watermelons. E EV VE EN NT TS S A fresh start for Iranian business Back to business, Iran food market gets a world exposure with Iran agrofood 2021. Based on the latest in- ternational talks, sanctions may be re- duced or even eliminated altogether. Financial transactions could be re-estab- lished within the usual framework. This would create new perspectives for doing business with Iran. Iran agrofood 2021, comprising of four dedicated partial fairs namely Iran agro, Iran food + bevtec, Iran food ingre- dients, and Iran food + hospitality,covers the entire process chain from field to fork. Organized since 1994, by the German exhibition specialist ‘fairtrade’ along with its Iranian partners Palar Samaneh the event witnesses 40,000+ trade visi- tors, and 1,400+ exhibitors from 30+ countries in years like 2016 to 2018, and its decades-long success story. This pro- fessional international trade show has been the most important agrofood plat- form for valuable business contacts for Iran and its neighboring countries. Since 6thApril 2021, top diplomats from the six parties - Iran, USA, Russia, China, UK, France and Germany - have been resuming talks in Vienna with the aim of reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Joe Biden‘s policy thus opens up new perspectives for doing business with Iran: “If Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations.” If appropriate agreements are reached, sanctions could be reduced or even eliminated altogether. Financial transactions could be re-established within the usual framework. This would create new perspectives for doing business with Iran. All these would add new perspectives for the exhibitors of Iran agrofood 2021. Iran is one of the largest sales markets for food & beverage technology and food ingredients in the Middle East. According to VDMA, Iranian imports of food processing and packaging ma- chinery amounted to €193 million in 2019, down from €297 million in 2018. There is a good chance that from 2021 onwards, these imports will gradually return to the levels of 2014 to 2018, when annual imports were as high as €341 million, making Iran the second largest importer in the Middle East. With 85 million inhabitants, Iran has long been the largest foodmarket in 100 AMEFT 3 2021 www.ameft.com (Source: fairtrade Messe) the Middle East. Expenditure in the F&B sector is growing steadily, and F&B production is by far the largest segment of the Iranian processing industry. Accordingly, the demand for food and beverage ingredients is rising continuously. National Pavilions at Iran agrofood 2021 To date national pavilions have been confirmed from Brazil, Germany, India, Italy, Russia and Turkey. The Brazilian Pavilion at Iran food + hospitality 2021 for instance was booked by the Brazilian Embassy in Tehran, whereas the Ger- man Pavilion at Iran food + bevtec 2021 has been confirmed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, in cooperation with the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry AUMA and VDMA Food Processing and Packaging Machinery. Start-up pavilion For the third time in a row, some twenty Iranian start-up companies will present their innovations at the Iran agrofood Start-up Pavilion in hall 31A. STARS at Iran agrofood 2021! In the times of Corona Despite the corona pandemic, the 27th Iran agrofood was held as a live event from October 4th to 7th, 2020, although more like a national than an international event. As such, Iran agrofood proved that it can also be successful in corona times, provided hygiene and safety precautions are strictly observed. Admission was limited to professional visitors.