MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Iran trebled trade with Latinamerica in 2008 reaching 2.9 billion USD

President Ahmadinejad recent visit to several South American countries has unsettled Israel and Washington

Iran has trebled trade with Latinamerica and Argentina has become its second partner in the region (replacing Mexico) according to Latin Business Chronicle based on data form the International Monetary Fund.

Brazil remains Iran’s main trading partner in the region and the main exporter but Ecuador has replaced Peru as the main importer of Iranian produce to the region says the report.

Iran-Latinamerican trade soared 209% in 2008, totalling 2.9 billion US dollars with a surplus of 2.5 billion for the region.

Bilateral trade with Brazil reached 1.26 billion USD in 2008, up 88% from 2007, based on IMF data. However during the recent visit of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, last week, Brazilian sources said trade in 2007 had been 2 billion USD.

Neither Brazil nor Iran has published statistics on their bilateral trade according to Latin Business Chronicle.

Trade with Argentina totalled 1.2 billion US dollars in 2008, a dramatic increase compared to the 30 million USD of 2007.

Trade is overwhelmingly favourable for Argentine exports and has advanced in spite of the diplomatic rift between the two countries following Argentina’s claim that Iran was behind the terrorist bombing of a Jewish institution in Buenos Aires back in 1994 which killed dozens and injured hundreds.

With Ecuador trade also zoomed to 168 million USD in 2008 from a mere 6 million the year before. Trade is dominated by Iranian imports to Ecuador.

In spite of the excellent political and diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Iran, bilateral trade in minimum: 52 million USD in 2008, up 31% from the previous year. Thus Venezuela figures as Iran’s fifth trade partner in the region.

Other significant Iranian trade partners in the region are Mexico, Peru, Chile and Uruguay.

Since the Iranian revolution Uruguay has become a strong supplier of rice, wool, and skins and on occasions beef.