Azerbaijan, Baku, Jun.17/ Trend F.Karimov/
Iran imported 316,000 tons of rice in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-May 21), ISNA reported, citing the Iranian Customs Administration data.
The imported rice valued at $359 million. Imports rose by 106.24 percent compared to the same period of last year.
India was the main exporter of rice to Iran, accounting for 58 percent of exports in weight.
The UAE and Turkey were the second and the third biggest exporters, accounting for 20 percent and 13 percent of the total exports, respectively.
Iran plans to produce 2.2 million tons of rice in the current Iranian calendar year, Iran's Rice Guild Association official Jalil Alizadeh Shayeq said last week.
According to the Agriculture Jihad Ministry, Iran was supposed to reach self-sufficiency in the rice production field by the end of the past Iranian calendar year, but officials recently announced that the plan needs another three years to be completed.
The country's annual rice consumption is around 2.8 million tons.