Trade between Russia and Qatar

In 2021, Russia exported $150 million to Qatar. The top products exported by Russia to Qatar were copper wire ($91.9 million), chocolate ($9.07 million), and barley ($6.35 million). Over the past 25 years, Russian exports to Qatar have increased at an annual rate of 20.5%, from $1.42 million in 1996 to $150 million in 2021. According to the United Nations’ COMTRADE database on international trade, Qatar’s imports from Russia amounted to $150.56 million in 2022. Qatar’s imports from Russia – data, historical charts and statistics – were last updated in September 2023.

In January 2022, Russia exported $20.4 million to Qatar and imported $2.94 million from Qatar. This resulted in a positive trade balance of $17.4 million. Between January 2021 and January 2022, Russian exports increased by $19.5 million (2.29 percent) from $852,000 to $20.4 million, while imports increased by $526,000 (21.8 percent) from $2.42 million to $2.94 million.

In January 2022, Russian exports were: mainly from the Sverdlovsk region ($17.9 million), Moscow ($746 million), Stavropol region ($727 million) and Leningrad region ($495 million).

While the import destinations were mainly: Moscow Region ($2.44 million), Republic of Tatarstan ($311 thousand), Saint Petersburg ($123 thousand), Moscow ($31.1 thousand) and Kaliningrad Region ($16.6 thousand).

In January 2022, the year-on-year increase in Russian exports to Qatar was mainly explained by an increase in exports of products in telephones ($210 thousand or 310 thousand percent), electric heaters ($53.9 thousand or 253 percent) and women’s non-woven products. Suits ($9.09 thousand or 418 percent). In January 2022, the year-on-year increase in Russian imports from Qatar was mainly explained by an increase in product imports in non-cyclic hydrocarbons ($36.2 thousand or 9.18 percent).

In January 2022, Russia’s top exports to Qatar were telephones ($210,000), ready-to-use adhesives ($98,300), plywood ($85,100), electric heaters ($75,200), and chocolate ($52,100). In January 2022, Russia’s top imports from Qatar were refined petroleum ($1.84 million), acyclic hydrocarbons ($431,000), heterocyclic nitrogen compounds ($104,000), ethylene polymers ($42,500), and other plastic products ($707). During 2021, Russia had a large net trade with Qatar in exports of metals ($95,400), food products ($14 million), and plant products ($9.77 million).

During 2021, Qatar had a large net trade with Russia in exports of mineral products ($37.8 million), chemical products ($8.17 million), and plastics and rubber ($1.16 million).

In 2020, Russia exported services worth $36.3 million to Qatar, with other business services ($15.6 million), transportation ($12.9 million), and construction services ($5.5 million) accounting for the largest services in terms of value.

Qatar Imports

Imports to Qatar decreased by 1.6% year-on-year to QAR 9.4 billion in July 2023, with a decrease in purchases for motor cars and other motor vehicles (-9.3%) and electrical apparatus for telephone/telegraph lines, telephone sets, parts thereof (13.4%).

The largest share of imports came from China (16.7 percent of total), the United States (14.3 percent) and Germany (6.7 percent). Source: Ministry of Planning and Development Statistics.

Qatar’s major imports include: transport equipment and parts (19 percent of total imports); nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances and parts (15 percent); basic metals and their products (11 percent); and electrical machinery and equipment and parts (10.7 percent). The main import partners are: the United States (11 percent of total imports), China (10 percent), Japan (8.2 percent), the United Arab Emirates (8 percent) and Germany (7 percent). Others include: Italy, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, India and Switzerland.

Qatar Customs Structure

In Qatar, customs duties are determined only based on the CIF value of the goods. Accordingly, multiple and repeated duties are not collected from goods imported into this country, and individuals and companies importing goods to Qatar can have a preliminary estimate of the costs. The Qatar Customs organization and organization have efficient and appropriate processes and procedures and are considered among the good customs in the region. It is worth mentioning that the customs of Iran and Qatar have a cooperation agreement.

There is also a free trade zone in this country called the “Qatar Science and Technology Park”. The authorities of the two countries of Iran and Qatar have signed a memorandum of understanding to avoid double taxation. Qatar has concluded an economic cooperation agreement with other countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The aim of this agreement is to establish a common market to expand trade relations between the aforementioned countries. In 2003, the member states of the agreement agreed to impose a uniform customs duty on imports of goods into member states. The customs duty for most imported goods is equal to five percent of the value or price of the goods. Imports of goods into free trade zones are not subject to customs duties.

In this framework, goods that, based on the production process in Qatar, have an added value of more than forty percent of the initial value at the time of entry are considered domestic goods. The owners of these goods can export their products to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries without paying import duties. Coordination between the customs,

quarantine, health, standards and port departments in the goods clearance system has reduced the time it takes for goods to enter the country.

The country is a member or observer of many international organizations. These organizations include:

– World Trade Organization

– Gulf Cooperation Council

– United Nations

– Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

– World Customs Organization

– International Chamber of Commerce

– United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

– United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

– International Atomic Energy Agency

– Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries

– Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development

– Arab Monetary Fund

– Pan-Arab Free Trade Area

Per capita income

Qataris have a per capita income of over seventy thousand dollars per year, making them one of the richest people in the world. For several years, per capita income in Qatar has been growing at a rate of 3.8 percent. This indicates that the Qatari economy has one of the fastest per capita income growth rates among the Gulf countries and the world. Therefore, Qatari buyers have adequate financial capacity to buy. Suppliers can also supply many luxury goods and services to the Qatari market. Merchants should also note that supplying high-quality goods and services can bring them great profits in this country. Quality is a fundamental and determining factor for the Qatari consumer. In fact, the Qatari consumer, with a good understanding of the types of goods, seeks products that have the highest quality. The Qatari consumer attaches great importance to advertising and if he sees his needs in newspapers, television and satellite networks, etc., he will be willing to buy it.

Economic system and role of the government

With a population of about 2.8 million people, Qatar is the 56th largest economy in the world based on GDP. Until recently, Qatar’s economy was monopolized by the state sector, but today, with the economic liberalization policy adopted in the country, private sector activity has flourished in most areas and the role of the government has changed to supporting core industries and supervising economic activities. Qatari authorities are trying to take less responsibility and provide facilities to inject investments from home and abroad into the country’s economy. The country is currently one of the most important banking centers in the region. Qatar’s most important environmental problem is the limited natural resources of fresh and edible water and its heavy dependence on the construction of water treatment facilities. Qatar does not have suitable soil for agriculture. Before the discovery of oil, its economy was based on animal husbandry, nomadic life, fishing, and pearl fishing. Today’s non-oil economy of Qatar is also not efficient due to the lack of proper water supply networks, infertile soil, unfavorable weather conditions, labor migration, state-owned land, limited water and its high consumption, and lack of inclination to invest in agriculture. However, at the same time, Qataris have achieved self-sufficiency in vegetable production and export some of it to neighboring countries. Today, Qatar’s economy is based on oil and has made the country one of the richest countries in the world. Usually, seventy percent of the country’s income comes from oil and gas exports. The most important strategic goals of the government for economic development include optimizing the added value of natural resources, diversifying income sources, especially in the industrial sector, increasing the participation of manufacturing industries in GDP, creating and developing an industrial culture, raising the level of self-reliance, and using scientific technologies to create competition and adapt to market needs.

Major Airports and Ports of Qatar

The country of Qatar has 4 major international airports: Hamad International Airport, Al Khor Airport, Al Udeid Airport, and Doha Free Zone Airport. Since it is not possible to transport cargo to Qatar with Iranian airlines, all Iranian cargo to Qatar is sent directly to Hamad Airport by Qatar Airways.

Hamad Port is the main port of Qatar. It is located south of Doha. This port opened for commercial trade in 2016. It replaced the old port of Doha. Hamad Port is one of the largest ports in the Middle East.

Ras Laffan Port is located on the northeastern coast of Qatar. It is the largest LNG exporting facility in the world. It can accommodate the largest carrier ships.

Al Ruwais Port is the second most important commercial port in Qatar. The port facility located at its northern end plays a vital role in increasing and diversifying regional cargo shipments.

Port of Musaid, also known as Port of Umm Saeed, is located on the eastern coast of Qatar. This port handles about 2,800 ships, 48,000,000 tons of cargo and 59,000 TEU annually.

The closest ports of Iran to Qatar

Due to its proximity to the Persian Gulf countries, including Qatar, the ports of Bushehr province have provided the basis for the development of trade and export activities. Statistics show that 50 percent of Iran’s exports to Qatar are carried out from the ports of Bushehr province. The closest port of Bushehr province to Qatar is Dir Port, which is 160 kilometers away. In this regard, 80 percent of Bushehr province’s cargo and commercial goods are exported to Qatar from Dir Port.

Dir Port is the center of Dir County and is located in the south of Bushehr Province. A beautiful port city in Iran that is 208 kilometers away from Bushehr, the provincial capital. Dir Port is 1,300 kilometers away from Tehran, 208 kilometers from Shiraz, and 107 kilometers from Asaluyeh.

First Report – March 1401

Trade relations between Iran and Qatar have grown in recent years, and given the needs of the wealthy Qatari market to import various consumer goods and the geographical proximity of the two countries, these relations have had high potential. However, the lack of formal banking relations on the one hand and a short-term view of the Qatari market have caused serious restrictions on the development of trade between the two countries. In this regard, the Iran Chamber of Commerce Research Center has examined the trade relations between the two countries in a report focusing on analyzing Qatar’s development strategies and trade policy documents and has presented 6 policy-making proposals.

Analysis of Trade Relations with Qatar

In the report “Qatar Trade Policy”, the Iran Chamber of Commerce Research Center has examined the trade relations between Iran and Qatar, focusing on analyzing the country’s development strategies and trade policy documents, and has finally presented policy-making proposals. Qatar is one of Iran’s important neighbors in the Persian Gulf.

In addition to Iran and Qatar’s partnership in the South Pars gas field, known in Qatar as the Northern Dome, the country’s foreign policy bias has led it to refrain from escalating tensions with Iran in recent years, unlike Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain. This positive attitude toward Iran in the Persian Gulf was strengthened, especially after the blockade of Qatar by its neighbors; to the extent that even the two countries being on different fronts in the Syrian civil war did not strain relations between Tehran and Doha. Although Iran was unable to take full advantage of the commercial opportunity that came its way after the blockade of Qatar, the three-year blockade nevertheless strengthened relations between the two countries in both the political and economic spheres. After the US withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran, the volume of trade relations between Iran and Qatar has decreased; although we have witnessed a relative increase in imports in 1400.

From 1997 to 2020, Iran’s exports to Qatar increased at an annual rate of 12.7%. In 2018, mineral fuels, oils, distillate products ($41.21 million), edible vegetables, roots and tubers ($31.45 million), iron and steel ($88.30 million), salt, sulfur, soil, stone, plaster, lime and cement ($17.24 million), rush and other textile floor coverings ($17 million), fruit, nuts, citrus peel, melons ($15.55 million), stone, plaster, cement, asbestos, mica or similar materials ($7.89 million), iron and steel products ($7.85 million), live animals ($6.44 million), plastics ($6.26 million), coffee, tea, milk powder and spices ($80.5 million), oilseeds and fruits ($5.38 million), fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic invertebrates ($4.25 million), Glass and glassware ($3.67 million), ceramic products ($3.42 million), dairy products, eggs, honey, edible products ($2.94 million), cereals, flour, starch, materials used in dairy industries ($1.99 million), food industry waste and animal feed ($1.87 million), zinc ($1.63 million), and machinery and boilers ($873,000) constituted the majority of Iran’s exports to Qatar.

In 2020, Iran’s major export items to Qatar included sheep and goats ($29 million), tomatoes ($12.8 million), and melons ($9.54 million). In the same year, and under the influence of the Corona pandemic, respirators worth $253,000 accounted for the largest share of Iran’s imports from Qatar.

In 2019, components and parts of turbojets, complete computer systems including all components, components and parts of aircraft engines, graphite and carbon products, internal combustion piston engines, moisture-proof multi-layer paper and cardboard, various types of pumps, camels, educational, scientific and non-topographic geographical maps, transformer oil, propylene glycol, citric acid, phosphoric acid, iron or steel products and rubber constituted the main items imported by Iran from Qatar. In the same year, the customs offices of Imam Khomeini International Airport, Pars Energy Special Economic Zone, Shahid Rajaee Special Economic Zone, Arak and Mashhad were the five main terminals for importing goods from Qatar. With the visit of the Iranian President to Qatar in 2019, 14 cooperation agreements were signed between the officials of the two sides.

These agreements covered various areas, including a joint memorandum of understanding between Iran’s Tavanir Company and the Qatar General Institute for Electricity and Water, a joint memorandum of understanding on maritime transport, an agreement between the Qatar Ports Management Company and the Iranian Maritime and Port Affairs Institute, a cooperation agreement between the two countries on land routes, an agreement on tourism between Iran and Qatar, a memorandum of understanding on joint cooperation on free zones between the Supreme Council for Free Industrial and Special Economic Zones of Iran and the Qatar Free Zones Institute, and a memorandum of cooperation on standards between the National Standards Organization of Iran and the Qatar General Institute for Standards. The two countries also agreed to promote bilateral trade and reach a trade of $3 billion by 2025.

What are the trade barriers?

The lack of a free and preferential trade agreement between the two countries, insufficient knowledge of the possibilities and capacities of joint cooperation, Qatari businessmen’s unfamiliarity with the diversity and quality of Iranian products, the convergence and proximity of the Arab countries of the region, and Qatar’s tendency to cooperate with these countries are among the most important threats to trade relations between the two countries. However, one of the important issues regarding Qatar is its geographical limitations; the high-level political and economic relations between Qatar and Turkey, in addition to this geographical limitation, provide Iran with a suitable opportunity and opportunity to realize its potential in the field of transit.

Turkey’s total exports to Qatar in 2019 were $1.3 billion, of which 56 percent were consumer goods, which provides Iran with a suitable opportunity; however, taking advantage of this opportunity depends on the development of transit and logistics facilities at the ports of Bushehr and especially Dir (the closest Iranian port to Qatar).

Also, realizing Iran’s transit potential as a bridge between Qatar and Turkey depends on lifting the restrictions imposed by the sanctions on Iran’s banking and financial sectors. This issue has also had negative effects on Iran-Qatar trade relations; due to the banking sanctions, there are no formal financial relations between the two countries and money transfers are carried out through exchange offices, which increases the cost of financial transfers.

Report of June 2, 1402

According to statistics published by the Customs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, trade between Iran and Qatar has grown significantly in the past year compared to 1400, with an increase of 46 percent in dollar terms and a growth of 77 percent in rial terms, but a decrease of 14 percent in weight.

This growth in trade between Iran and Qatar is due to the increase in imports of goods from this Persian Gulf country to our country, because Iran’s exports to Qatar last year faced a relative decrease in terms of weight and dollar value, but it was Iranian importers and Qatari traders who increased Iran’s imports from Qatar by 816 percent.

A look at the trade between the two countries shows that Iran, by exporting more than $124 million of various products to Qatar last year, has lowered this trading partner by three places to twenty-ninth place, and has experienced a 16 percent decrease in weight and a seven percent drop in dollar value compared to 1400.

This is while Iran’s imports from the same country have experienced a sharp increase last year compared to 1400.

Statistics show that Iran imported only about $9 million worth of various goods from Qatar in 1400, and the country was the 66th largest seller to Iran, but this year it rose to 37th place among Iran’s trading partners with imports of more than $83 million. A look at Qatar’s import statistics to Iran last year shows a 909 percent growth in weight, an 816 percent increase in dollar value, and a 5,242 percent growth in rial value compared to 1400.

What Iranian goods traveled to Qatar in 1401?

A review of the details of Iran’s exports to Qatar shows that fresh or chilled greenhouse tomatoes rank first among the goods exported to Qatar, accounting for more than 14 percent of this long list. After that, fresh watermelon is the second most exported product to Qatar, for which the country’s traders have spent more than six million dollars. Saffron in packages of more than 30 grams is also in third place, white cement ranks fourth, and… are among the major exported goods to Qatar.

Astronomical growth of imports from Qatar

Iran’s imports from Qatar have seen a sharp jump, reaching from $9 million in 1400 to about $84 million last year. “Chemical pulp, prepared or treated with sulphate, other than pulps of the dissolving grade, semi-bleached dark pine” is the first imported product, which cost Iran more than $37 million and accounts for 44.78 percent of Qatar’s imports to our country. After that, “absorbent powder and solid acrylic polymers” is in second place with a value of over $21 million and a share of 25.75 percent. “Machinery and devices for finishing paper or paperboard”, “Electronic components and parts of integrated circuits (ICs), “Components and parts of power supplies and batteries”, etc. are other products purchased by Iranian traders from their Qatari counterparts last year, which are in the next ranks.