Azerbaijan, Baku, Apr.22/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran has removed offering dollar at the official rate of 12,260 rials to medicine importers and will offer them dollar at the Forex Center rate, which is currently 24,754 rials, the Mehr News Agency quoted Iran heath minister Mohammad-Hassan Tariqat-Monfared as saying.
Iran supplies medicine at the least prices in the world, he said.
The measure is in line with the ministry's plans to improve quality and supply of medicine in the domestic market, he noted.
Some 97 percent of Iran's required medicine is currently produced domestically, the Fars News Agency quoted Iran's Health Ministry official Hossein Ayati as saying on Friday.
About 50 percent of necessary raw material for producing the medicine is imported, he added.
Last year, some $1.7 billion was allocated to import medicine which is not produced inside the country, the official said.
In March, Iran's drug importing union chief, Nasser Riahi said there will be no special concern about the medicine drug supply in Iran in the current Iranian calendar year, which began on March 21, IRNA reported.
"The drug market has been stable. Regarding the actions taken to ensure the medicine drugs flow into the country, the interaction between the government and parliament is taking place, and next year there will be no problems with drug supplies," Riahi said.
Iran experiences certain difficulties with drug shortages in the country, largely because of the international sanctions imposed on Iran, due to its disputed nuclear program.
Despite the fact that the sanctions do not directly target the medical supplies and food, many companies refuse to deal with Iran, fearing the impact of the sanctions.
"Iran's ministry of health, the Parliament and the Central Bank cooperate on this problem," Riahi said, commenting on the sanctions' effect towards local medicine. "They follow the step-by-step plan to solve the issue."
He expressed hope that the government and Parliament will understand the circumstances of drug importing companies, which encounter problems with foreign exchange rate difference in the country.
"Such subjects as allocation of money and stabilizing the exchange rate in Iran should be seriously pursued," Riahi underscored.
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