Baku, Azerbaijan, May 11
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
There are 700,000 tons of rice exceeding Iran’s needs, so there is no basis for the price increase, said Aziz Karimi, director general of the Grains and Basic Goods Department of Iran’s Ministry of Agriculture Jihad, Trend reports via Fars News Agency.
He said that Iran’s annual demand for rice is 3 million tons.
He added that 2.1 million tons of rice were produced last Iranian year (started March 21, 2018) and about 1.65 million tons of rice were imported to Iran.
Commenting on the rise in the price of rice to 230,000 rials ($5.47 according to official exchange rate and $1.53 in black market), the ministry official said that the price of rice isn’t regulated by the ministry.
He said that the reason for the price increase isn’t related to the decrease in supply.
He added that a 20 percent increase in rice production is expected this Iranian year (started March 21, 2019).