Iranian importers, most likely to be private firms, have bought around 35,000 tonnes of corn from the Black Sea region in the first fresh purchase in weeks, European traders said on Monday. The grain was bought in one consignment of 30,000 tonnes for shipment from the Russian port of Novorossiysk and one of 5,000 tonnes from the Russian port of Dubovka, traders said. Both were for shipment by November 30.
"I think there has been quite a bit of corn purchasing for animal feed by Iran and this deal is one indication of it, they seem to have a continuing import requirement," one trader said. "Payment is difficult because of the sanctions but not impossible as funds are coming through from their bank accounts frozen by the West." The European Union and the United States have imposed sanctions aimed at discouraging Tehran's nuclear programme. Iran insists that its atomic programme is for peaceful purposes.
Iran and six world powers are moving closer to an initial agreement to curb Iran's nuclear programme, a senior US official and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov both said in recent days, raising hopes of a peaceful end to the 10-year dispute. The sanctions do not target food or animal feed shipments, but financial measures have frozen Iranian companies out of much of the global banking system, hindering deals for food imports.
But Iranian bank accounts frozen by sanctions have been loosened in recent months to pay for food and animal feed. The latest corn deals appeared to be private interests rather than state buyers, two dealers said. Iran has to import 7.5 million tonnes of wheat this year, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in September, in what international traders had said was a surprisingly large upward revision of initial market projections. "With uncertainty over the current talks with the West, it would seem like Iran is holding back for now on big purchases until they have a clearer idea on that process - they are not sure if they may be affected by further restrictions," a trader in the Middle East said.