Iran has announced its plans to introduce a direct shipping line to Latin America and South Africa in the upcoming months.

The new shipping line will be launched with the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and will support the development of Iran’s non-oil trade with the nations in the stated regions.

Iranian Chamber of Cooperatives (ICC) non-oil trade and export development committee head Babak Afghahi said that the line will link southern Iranian ports to the ports of South Africa, and then, to Latin American countries, including Brazil.

Afghahi said: “With the support of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, considering the capacity of Iran’s cargo export to the mentioned destinations, the chambers of commerce across the country, the Trade Promotion Organization (TPO) of Iran, and other export bodies have been informed about the new development.”

As informed by IRNA, in the first six months of the past Iranian calendar year from 21 March to 22 September 2019, the Islamic Republic’s dealings with South Africa reached nearly $43m.

In the same period of its preceding year, the numbers stood at $27m.

Over the past few years, Iran has been introducing a number of direct shipping lines to its main trade destinations to expand non-oil trade.

Earlier this month, Iran-Syria Joint Chamber of Commerce head Keyvan Kashefi declared the launch of a direct shipping line between Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas and Syria’s Mediterranean port of Latakia.

Iran has also established five direct shipping lines to Oman and is currently preparing to launch direct routes to Qatar, Russia, India, and Turkmenistan.