Baku, Azerbaijan, June 18
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
The former head of Exports Commission at the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture urged the government to create a secondary market for trading foreign currencies.
“I think today we need an aftermarket to trade foreign currencies as people still have problems selling and buying them in the market,” Seyed Razi Haji Aqa-Miri told the Trend news agency on June 18.
Now that the government has put an end to the dual exchange regime, it needs to determine the rate and supply of foreign exchange in the country.
“We need the secondary market so that exporters could easily give out their currencies to those who need them in the market,” the boarding member of Iran Export Confederation said.
Stressing that Iranian business activists are currently grappling with the issue of market instability, he said the market needs more stability as price hikes are getting the activists into trouble.
Haji Aqa-Miri further said that Iran needs to diversify its products for exportation in order to be able to target new markets across the globe.
On April 9, Iran unified the country’s official and open market exchange rates after its currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low on concerns over a return of crippling sanctions.
The US dollar jumped in a day from 54,700 rials to 60,000 rials in the open market in Tehran at the time. A dollar was worth 36,000 rials in mid-September.
After an emergency cabinet meeting, Iran’s First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri was quoted by the state media as saying that from April 10 the price of the dollar would be 42,000 rials in both markets, and for all business activities.