According to Iran's International Stone Exhibition, the Vodenkha Moscow Exhibition Center hosted the 17th International Construction Report Exhibition. The presence of two hundred and fifty-eight companies from twenty-seven countries and the supply of all kinds of building stone including marble, granite and travertine has made it one of the most prestigious stone exhibitions in the world. Within the framework of the program of Russian and Iranian companies to start cooperation in the field of extraction, production and trade of stone, Iran also exhibited eleven Iranian companies in a booth with an area of ​​400 square meters. Experience the world arena.

Iran's presence is powerful and diverse

At the inauguration ceremony, Marina Tretyakova, director of the International Exhibition of Russian Construction Decorative Stones (Industria Kamenia), made a boast of an Iranian convoy.

He praised the presence of Iranian companies alongside the largest companies in the world from Russia, Europe and Asia. He said that Iran's first presence in the Russian stone exhibition is very powerful and diverse and could certainly attract the attention of Russian companies.

Tretyakova expressed hope that Iranian companies would sign a cooperation agreement with Russian partners at the Moscow International Exhibition of Building Stone.

He continued: The Russian stone market is very large and has many customers. Due to the variety of Iranian products in this sector, Iranian companies can find good partners for cooperation in different parts of the country.

Enter the Russian market with all your might

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Mohammad Sanai also attended the exhibition.

He pointed out important things about the Russian market. According to the Iranian ambassador to Russia, the country as a whole has no preferential tariffs except trade in eleven CIS countries in its trade with other countries.

Sanai emphasized that Russia is signing an agreement with Eurasian countries, which imposes very low tariffs on 100 goods.

Referring to Iran's capability in the stone industry, he said: Iran should be pursued to include goods such as stone in the Eurasian list of goods and low tariffs.

The ambassador did not find it difficult to achieve this goal, citing the level of political and economic relations between Iran and Russia. According to him, today's political relations between Iran and Russia are very good and all necessary agreements have been signed between the two countries to improve trade relations.

According to him, today is the time to expand economic activities and trade with Russia and discuss the importance of the Green Customs Corridor Agreement and the liberalization of export of food and dairy products (hitherto banned).

Referring to the growing trend of bilateral trade with Russia, Sanai said: In the first six months of this year, Russia's trade with the European Union and China has declined by 30% and trade with Turkey has declined sharply. At the same time, the volume of economic cooperation between Iran and Russia has increased by 60%.

The Iranian ambassador to Russia stressed that Iran should not enter the Russian market wisely.

Rather, it must enter this great market with all its might. The Sana'i comment was a confirmation of Iran's participation in the Moscow Stone Industry Exhibition. A pavilion to bring the power and glory of Iranian activists to the forefront of exhibitors and visitors.

The Iranian ambassador also pointed out a very important point: the buildings of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities show Russian interest in architecture and the experience of Iranian companies in the production and supply of special stones can be found in this area. Widely applied.

Created by Iran Stone Institute

Ahmad Sharifi, secretary of the Iranian Association of Stones, who also participated in the Russian International Rock Exhibition in Moscow, said: "To achieve the goal of five billion dollars in annual export of stone by the end of the five-year plan, a series of measures must be taken. To be sure, the first step is to have an effective presence in global consumer markets, including Russia, and identifying and assessing markets for the type and form of stone industry products is of particular importance.

Sharifi said that in addition to the Moscow Exhibition, Iranian companies will also participate in three major international exhibitions in Siam China, Verona Italy and Izmir Turkey, with a dedicated hall called the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He continued: The second solution is the formation of stone export consortiums, considering that 50 other consortiums are planned in this field.

He added: Improvement of the quality of domestic products in cooperation with the Italian Stone Association to establish the Institute of Stone Industry is being pursued on the basis of a signed memorandum of understanding and the relevant stakeholders will receive the necessary training in the formulated programs.

Sharifi also said that the finished price of Iranian products is another important issue that needs to be investigated because we are weaker than other competitors and must take significant steps to reduce costs at all stages.

 Iran's presence is more prominent than its rivals

The chief executive of Houston, which is responsible for organizing Iranian companies and coordinating with the organizers of the Russian stone event, also said: "Fortunately, during this period of the Moscow Stone Industry Exhibition, Iran's strong presence has raised the level of the exhibition. According to Mohammad Rasa, the Iranian pavilion was featured prominently in the exhibition.

In addition to Iran, Egypt also participated in the exhibition as a pavilion, Rasa said. However, Iran Pavilion was very powerful in appearance and design, and the companies presenting at the stone fair had good choices in their products. These products were fully marketed to the Russian market and to Russian tastes, which can be seen in the coming months. In the end we can say that Iran's presence at the Moscow Stone Industry Exhibition has been successful. But very important is Iran's performance after the exhibition is over.

Marketing and continued presence in the Russian market are among the most important factors that can stabilize Iran's success, according to Mohammad Rasa.

He stresses that the Iranian stone industry must have a continuous presence in the Russian market as well as its stone exhibitions for five to seven years in order to gain a significant share of the Russian market.

Rasa adds: My analysis of the Russian market is that we can have two markets in this country. One of them is the "Luxury Stone Market", which includes specific customers looking for specific designs and qualities. This market, though small, has high profitability. In this market, our competitors are Italy and Spain, which because of EU sanctions, Iran has a great opportunity to expand its territory. The "popular stone market" is Iran's second largest market, covering the general and middle class of the country and located in the southern part of Russia.

Deputy Minister of Mines and Minerals, Ministry of Industry: Goal: $ 1 Billion a Year

Jafar Sarkhini, on the sidelines of the Russian International Stone Exhibition, said: "The first presence of Iranian companies in the scope and variety of products at the Moscow International Stone Exhibition is to implement a coherent and documented export program in the field so that Iranian stones are exported to Russia and other member states." Be exported as usual.

He added that some experts in the stone market estimate the capacity of Greek companies to meet the Russian market needs for a variety of building stones at least $ 1 billion a year, which could be considered as a target.

The Deputy Minister of Mines and Minerals of the Ministry of Industry also stated that Iran, with about four and a half billion tonnes of stockpile of building stones with many customers in foreign markets and one hundred and fifty active mines, unfortunately only exports 200 million dollars per year and should export Consideration should be given to increasing that Russia and CIS countries are one of the target markets.

* Swing Monthly