Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov. 5 /Trend S.Isayev, T. Jafarov/
Iranian medical labs experience critical lack of necessary equipment, due to unstable foreign currency rate in the country, Mehr reported.
Vice President of Iranian Association of Laboratory Sciences Doctor Majid Musallayi said the cost of necessary materials and lab equipment is unacceptable, and is currently at alarming level.
"Volatility at the foreign exchange markets make it harder to import the lab equipment," Musallayi said.
The Iranian rial has plummeted in value against the dollar over the past year, with the slide accelerating over the past month.
The drop is blamed on Western-led sanctions targeting Iran's suspect nuclear program but also on government mismanagement by Tehran.
Musallayi noted that if before companies signed contracts with labs for importing equipment, and got paid monthly, then now companies require to be paid in cash at once.
According to Musallayi, if inconsistency of equipment imports and problems with insurance payments will continue, the situation will get worse.
Referring to 30-percen increased tariffs, put by the High Council of Lab Medicine, Musallayi said the raised percentage does not meet the costs, adding that tariffs should be increased anywhere from 50 to 240 percent for costs to be met.