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and kiwis back to Iran and Georgia over pest fears, according to Trend News Agency on July 9.
Growing exports from Iran to Caucasian countries are getting a mixed reception, with some exports not meeting quarantine and hygiene levels.
In the report, FSA said, “[the] Agency has returned 400 tonnes of potatoes and kiwis to Iran and Georgia due to the danger of the spread of pests that are subject to quarantine measures.”
The chairman of the organisation Goshgar Tahmazli said at the anniversary of the organisation’s first anniversary that it is increasing its oversight of imports from neighbouring countries.
The head of the agency noted that 255 tonnes of products were destroyed, and 838 tonnes of foodstuffs were neutralised and cleaned by various methods.
The Azeri report follows that of a similar return from neighbouring Dagestan, where which reported Iranian and Azeri produce being returned to senders. The Rosselkhoznadzor Office Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance in the Republic of Dagestan reportedly said both Iranian and Azerbaijani products had arrived without proper import documentation were returned to the exporters due to quarantine issues.
Some 119,000 tonnes of tomatoes, 108,000 tonnes of sweet cherries and 11.73 tonnes of bell peppers were sent back over the border in one episode.
9.1.7 Property sector news
Iran’s residential rental market has reached its breaking point, with tenants unable to afford price hikes any longer, according to an Iranian real estate expert cited by IRNA.
The dizzying drop in the value of the Iranian rial (IRR) against a basket of hard currencies by some 65-70% in the past 12 months under the economic pressure generated by US sanctions has led landlords to jack up rents. Annual rental agreements in Iran are now often renegotiated due to sudden increases demanded in deposits and monthly payments demanded by landlords.
Hesam Oghbayi, vice president of the Real Estate Advisors' Union told IRNA: "One determinant in rent prices around the world is housing prices; inflation and the imbalance between supply and demand as well as population growth are other factors.
"The capacity to increase rental rates is not more than 20% in big cities, and around 10 to 15% in smaller cities.”
He added that “the possibility of increasing prices in the rental market is remote because of supply and demand in renting”.
In recent years, according to Oghbayi, housing prices have climbed without pause, “and as a result, in those years more tenants have migrated from wealthy sections of [cities] to downtown areas, and tenants in more deprived areas migrate to satellite towns eventually”.
Iran’s Ministry of Roads and Urban Development announced on May 20 that it is to set up an emergency committee to set rental rates to ensure they do not exceed consumer inflation.
Abbas Farhadieh, director of the housing investment and economy department at the ministry, reportedly said: “The committee will consist of nine people from the private sector, Majlis [parliament], estate agents and the central bank.”
The committee would not interfere in the free market but would attempt to set clear guidelines for property prices in each individual area, he added.
The Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI), in its latest report on the matter, said rental prices in Iran increased by 21.7% y/y in the fourth quarter of the 2018/2019
41 IRAN Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com