Page 53 - IRANRptSep20

Iran customs administration announces seasonal ban on rice imports ‘after postponement of one month’
aimed at boosting export markets for Iranian agricultural firms in its Central Asian neighbour, including potentially exporting fertilizers and machinery.
As part of the EAEU push by Tehran, Iran’s National Innovation Fund – affiliated with the President’s office – had already opened a permanent exhibition of Iranian knowledge-based products in Kyrgyzstan’s capital Bishkek in November 2018, called the “Iranian Business House.”
Several Iranian and Kyrgyz officials delivered speeches at the international online event, including Minister of Agriculture, Food Industry and Melioration of the Kyrgyz Republic Erkinbek Choduev, who highlighted Iranian experience in indigenising farming machinery.
The joint meeting follows the second shipment of ​medical aid from Iran​ to Kyrgyzstan, where Tehran has exported large numbers of personal protective equipment in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19), which has been taking a heavy toll on both countries.
The Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) has banned registrations for rice imports as of the start of the next Iranian calendar month (Shahrivar, starting August 22) until further notice, according to an August 19 report from Mehr News Agency.
The news service cited IRICA deputy head Mehrdad Jamal Orounaqi as telling a local radio programme that the plan for the seasonal ban on rice imports—used to support domestic farmers—should have been triggered at the beginning of the current Iranian calendar month (started July 22) but it was postponed for a month.
Orounaqi reportedly said that nearly 800,000 tonnes of rice were imported into the country in the 2019/2020 Iranian calendar year (ended March 19), adding that rice imports were down by around 20% to date in the 2020/2021 year. “About 390,000 tonnes of rice has been cleared through customs, while some cargoes are still stored in customs,” he was also cited as saying.
The ​Tehran Times​ quoted secretary of the Iran Rice Association, Jamil Alizadeh Shayeq, as saying Iranian farmers produced 2.6mn tonnes of rice in the 2019/2020 calendar year, while production stood at between 2.2mn and 2.3mn tonnes in the 2018/2019 year.
The annual rice consumption of Iran, a country of 84mn, stands at around three million tonnes.
More than 90% of Iran’s rice is produced in the northern provinces of Gilan and Mazandaran, while less than 10% of the commodity is produced in the provinces of Isfahan, Ilam, Kurdistan, Khouzestan and others.
Official statistics show more than 620,000 hectares of the country’s agricultural lands as under rice cultivation. Of that, 520,000 hectares are in Mazandaran, Gilan and Golestan provinces.
9.1.9​ Construction & property sector news
The sale of several properties owned by the Iranian state in Albania, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan has been proposed in a letter sent to the Rouhani cabinet by Iran’s foreign ministry, according to details published by​ Cabinetoffice.ir​.
The properties include apartments, embassy buildings and land. Some of the properties are said to be in the way of redevelopment plans drawn up by the host cities. Unofficially, however, social media users are pointing to the empty coffers of the foreign ministry as the real reason for the sales appetite, with Iran struggling economically given the US sanctions throttling its economy. According to the foreign ministry, two buildings belonging to the Iranian
53​ IRAN Country Report September 2020 www.intellinews.com