Tehran, Iran, April 15
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
The recent decision by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) on baring exchange shops from trading foreign currencies have created hurdles for the exporters of fishery products in Iran, a union official told Trend.
Aliakbar Khodaei, the secretary-general of Iranian union for the exporters of fishery products, has said that a group of customers prefer to carry out money transactions through the exchange shops rather than the banking system.
Saying that the union backs the Central Bank decision on unifying the currency exchange rates, he expressed hope that the problem would be resolved in near future.
France, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq, Azerbaijan and Russia are among the top importers of the Iranian fishery products.
According to the official, the country’s exports of fishery products over the last fiscal year (starting March 21) increased by 15,000 tons to reach 85,000 tons.
The total exports of the fishery in this period valued at $450 million of which the output including worth of $100 million of shrimp, he said.
The CBI has recently banned offering foreign currencies in exchange shops across the country amid growing concerns over the depreciation of the national currency, rial, promising to provide the nation with the required currencies through the banking system.
The rial lost close to half its value on the free market since September, driven in part by concerns over a possible return of sanctions in case of US exit from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri on Monday evening announced the authorities’ latest decision on unifying official and free-market exchange rates for the rial in favor of a single rate set at 42,000 against the US dollar.