TEHRAN, Iran, Feb. 5
Trend:
Iran eyes to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production, by renovating rice paddy factories and draining over 500,000 acres of the northern region of the country, member of the Iranian parliament's agriculture commission Zabihullah Aazami said, Trend reports citing ILNA.
The Agriculture Commission of the Parliament has held several meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture Jihad and obliged to implement the mentioned plans by next year, Aazami said.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, Rice, which is a central staple of the Iranian diet rose by more than 68.5 percent compared to last year. Imported rice had a smaller price increase, because of the indirect government subsidy, which could run out in the near future.
The reason for the steep price increase of domestic rice could be partly attributed to worsening drought this year, but production costs including fertilizer and overall inflation also play a role.
The volume of rice imported to Iran for the first eight months of the current Iranian year (March 21 through November 21, 2021), increased by 24 percent, compared to the same period last Iranian year. Iran has imported a total of 665,000 tons of rice during the reporting period.
Iran’s rice cultivation and sale has decreased due to drought in the country this year. This has resulted in rising rice prices in country.