Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 30
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iranian Minister of Industries, Mines and Trade Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh has been questioned Dec. 30 in the Iranian parliament over excessive imports of strategic goods including sugar and rice as well as luxury cars.
Some 102 out of the 219 lawmakers present in parliament said in a vote that they were not convinced by Nematzadeh's explanations, Iran 's Mehr news agency reported.
It is the second time that Nematzadeh has received official warning from the parliament, and the minister maybe impeached if another question is submitted by the MPs.
In mid-October Iran banned import of rice and sugar simultaneously with the harvest season of the two products.
Abbas Keshavarz, an official with the country's agriculture ministry said that last year rice and sugar imports exceeded the domestic need and now the market has been saturated by the two items, adding that for market regulation import of rice and sugar is banned up to the end of harvest season.
Import of cars with engines of up to 2500CC capacity is also banned. Athletes and the disabled are the only ones able to import these cars.
edited by CN
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