Tehran, Iran, Feb.23
Trend:
Head of Iranian Customs Organization has announced that there are currently 600 to 700 containers of meat at the customs.
"During the 11 months of this year (Iranian calendar year, which will end on March 21) we did not cut imports of 25 basic commodities, and even the import of such commodities has increased by one million tons during these period, as compared
to the last year,” the Head of Iranian Customs Organization Mehdi Mirashrafi said, Trend reports citing Mehr News Agency.
He noted that 137,000 tons of frozen meat have been imported into the country, and there are now between 600 and 700 containers of meat at the customs.
“Prior to the sanctions, the imported products were stored at the customs on average for 20 days, but now it has risen to 40 days,” he said. “This is due to delays in the transfer of currency and the sending of purchase documents. We have this problem in Bandar Abbas and at the customs of the Imam Khomeini Port.”
Mirashrafi noted that of course, given that containers carrying meat are refrigerated, there is no possibility for meat going bad.
The head of the Iranian Customs also pointed out that 10 containers of meat have been stored from October at the customs, as the owner of the goods has not been able to obtain the necessary permissions to buy for about 6 months.
"Currently, 99 percent of meat is imported via customs green route, the only needed document is the license issued by veterinary authorization,” he said.
He added that 50 percent of the meat containers left at the customs are for State Livestock Affairs Logistics (S.L.A.L) Inc., and the rest are distributed under the supervision of this corporation after the release.
The rise of meat price in recent days in Iran has created additional problems for the market and affected the consumption level of the low income class.