Baku, Azerbaijan, May 2
Trend:
Iran has allocated cheap-rated US dollar to import staple foods in recent days, Iranian Deputy Minister of Agriculture Ali Akbar Mehrfard said.
The official said that the Iranian government will pay subsidy for import of staple goods and medicine, which were already using the rate of Foreign Exchange Center, the agriculture ministry’s official website reported.
In April the Iranian government decided to unify the country’s official and open market exchange rates.
The decision was made following fluctuations in the country after the rial declined to an all-time low.
Following that the government put the price of the US dollar at 42,000 rials in both markets, and for all business activities, which led to some problems in staple goods’ market.
However, Mehrfard said that the government has started paying some 4,000 rials for import of staple goods and medicine, so the exchange rate for the goods will be 38,000 rials per each USD.
The official added that some 1.2 million tons of staple goods have been cleared from customs in the last two days based on the subsidized rate.
The lack of 20-day clearance, till April 30, caused problems in the market for livestock feed, he said, adding that following the allocation of the cheap-rated currency the shortage problem in the market is being settled.
Mehrfard said about 700,000 tons of corn, 400,000 tons of soybeans, 30,000 tons of soybean meal, as well as some colza and sheep meat have been cleared from the customs’ entrances.