Barter, other steps help Iran firms beat sanctions
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian firm AHT exports millions of dollars worth of nuts and dried fruit from Iran each month but Western financial sanctions mean it gets little money in return. Instead it is paid with other goods, such as cardboard boxes and metal cans from China. "Most of our business right now is like this. No money is involved in the process," Mohammad Amin, managing director of the pistachio and raisin exporter, told Reuters at an international food industry show in Dubai this month. "We import the goods, sell the goods to the local market, get the money from the local market, and then pay my staff and my farmers. "No money is circulating -- it's like thousands of years ago," Amin said between negotiations with prospective buyers over bowls brimming with pistachios. Last year AHT's exports totaled about $100 million, mostly to China and India. …….
Fortsetzung: http://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCATRE81S12G20120229?sp=true