Page 52 - IRANRptOct21

9.1.7 Healthcare sector news
Iranian insurers call for government help as coronavirus payout pressure mounts
The Iranian Insurers’ Organisation—an industry lobby group—has requested financial support from Iran’s government as it contends with the country’s growing death toll from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, according to Donyaye Eqtesad.
Insurance companies, call centres and secondary agents in offices around the country suspended much of their work given closure notices issued by the government as the outbreak worsened, but following their return to operation they have found themselves buckling under the weight of applications and payouts.
Some 400,000 people are employed in the insurance sector in Iran, a country of 83mn. The industry is now facing a perfect storm of policy auto-renewals together with payouts, despite not being able to raise the base prices of policies.
The medical and life insurance segments have reportedly taken the biggest hits in recent days, with huge payouts becoming due.
Also, unemployment benefit, which is backed by insurance, has skyrocketed in recent weeks, with some 600,000 people officially laid off as a consequence of the economic effects of the pandemic in Iran. Earlier, as part of preparations to deal with the outbreak, insurance companies were told by Central Insurance of Iran to recapitalise and meet new minimum liquidity rules ahead of the impending payout surge.
The government in 2017 set IRR2.5 trillion ($65.18mn at the official exchange rate) as the minimum capital requirement for starting a reinsurance firm and IRR1tn as the requirement for starting an insurance firm.
9.1.8 Agricultural sector news
Iran on course to hit ambitious fruit export targets
The Tehran Fruit and Vegetable Traders Union plans to export more than 2mn tonnes of fruit in the current Persian calendar year (ending in March 2022), ILNA has reported.
“This year, our total production will be 4.5 million tonnes, of which 2.5 million tonnes will be consumed domestically and two million is intended for export. We’re planning to export to Russia, Iraq, Armenia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan,” Mostafa Daraei-Nejad was reported as saying.
He added: “There are around 67 fruit and vegetable items in the domestic market and we don’t face shortages with any of them. We have 2.5 million tonnes of fruit production in Mazandaran province alone.”
Figures from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) showed the value of Iran’s agricultural exports was up 9% y/y in the first four months of the present Persian calendar year (March 21-July 22).
Mehrdad Jamal Orounaqi, IRICA’s deputy head for technical affairs, said that over 2.5mn tonns of agricultural products worth more than $1.7bn were exported in the four-month period.
The main foodstuffs and agricultural products exported were tomatoes, pistachios, watermelons, tomato paste, cheese, apples, melons, potatoes, dates, and various sweets, he added, naming Iraq, China, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates as the main export destinations.
Separately, earlier this week Russian authorities, citing brown rot, rejected a consignment of nectarines (18.7 tonnes) from Azerbaijan and two consignments of nectarines (39.3 tonnes) from Iran on the border of Dagestan, Russian Dag Pravda reported.
52 IRAN Country Report October 2021 www.intellinews.com