TEHRAN, Iran, Sep. 15
Trend:
Iranian private sector asked the government to lift the ban on the import of rice in order to balance the rice market, the secretary of the Rice Importers Association announced, Trend reports citing Mehr News Agency.
"The shortage of foreign rice and the decrease in domestic production have increased the rice price so that the lifting of the ban on rice imports can balance the market," Masih Keshavarz said.
"The ban on rice imports, approved in July and continues until November, is not effective in the current situation in which domestic rice production has decreased and the government forced using strategic reserves to balance the market,” he noted.
The secretary of the Rice Importers Association indicated that the country's strategic reserves should be used in unexpected events such as famine.
“The private sector is able to import rice, both to preserve the country's strategic reserves and stabilize the rice market,” he said.
“Currently, over 70,000 tons of rice are stored in the country's customs and ports, while 200,000 to 500,000 tons are ready to be imported from India and Pakistan," Keshavarz added
He suggested that the ban on rice imports be lifted two months earlier than the deadline in November.