Iran firms largely excluded from global bank network

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 -- its like thousands of years ago, Amin said between negotiations with prospective buyers over bowls brimming with pistachios. Last year AHTs exports totalled about $100 million, mostly to China and India.Financial sanctions imposed over Irans disputed nuclear programme have dealt a heavy blow to its foreign trade. Since late last year the United States has stepped up its use of anti-money laundering legislation to make it legally dangerous for banks that have any U.S. business to maintain ties with Iran.As a result, Iranian firms have been frozen out of much of the global banking system which finances trade. It is difficult or impossible for them to obtain letters of credit or conduct international transfers of funds through banks.But the cases of AHT and other Iranian companies contacted by Reuters suggests many are finding their way around the obstacles and continuing to do business, albeit at considerable inconvenience and cost.Some Iranian exporters and importers are resorting to barter; others are putting together complicated but legal networks of partners abroad to handle payments. Some are using transfers through money exchange houses instead of banks, or employing a legal but largely unregulated money transfer network known as hawala in the Middle East and hundi in India.Commerce takes precedence over everything, so if tomorrow there are sanctions or whatever else, there are always different ways of getting round it, said Sanjiv Sawla of Mumbai-based trading firm M Lakhamsi.There was a minor aberration for a while where there was a drop-off in trade, but everybody has put their systems in place now, he said. His firm trades about $125 million a year of seeds, spices, wheat and rice -- some $5-10 million with Iran.I get my money out of Dubai. I dont know how they arrange it...The product never touches Dubai, the product just goes from India to Iran and the payment comes from Dubai these days...Until about six months ago, it used to come from Iran.