BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 25
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
In the current Iranian year (began March 21, 2019), Iran Combine Manufacturing Company (ICM) exported agricultural equipment for $468,000, ICM Managing Director Ali Asghar Hamidifar said, Trend reports via IRNA.
Hamidifar noted that the company exported 13 combine harvesters and 24 balers during the reported period.
In total, the company has manufactured 230 combine harvesters this year, Hamidifar said.
The price of one combine harvester is 3.2 billion rials (roughly $76,100), the director said.
The director added that this year, the company has manufactured 199 balers and the price of one baler varies in the range from 390 million to 410 million rials (roughly between $9,280 and $9,760)
There are over 7,000 old combine harvesters in the country, and this results in the loss of over 880,000 tons of barley and wheat grains a year, Hamidifar said.
Low-interest loans must be provided to farmers to purchase new combine harvesters, the director said adding that increased sales of combine harvesters will prevent losses while harvesting and boost the company's operations.
Iran Combine Manufacturing Company was established in 1969. In 2005, 53 percent of the company's stocks were sold to Astan Quds Razavi Foundation, based in Mashhad, Iran. Astan Quds Razavi is the administrative organization which manages various institutions. In 2013, the foundation paid 400 billion rials (approximately $9.5 million) and increased its stock in ICM to 75 percent.