Page 44 - IRANRptNov18

particularly well represented in Dagestan and the Chechen Republic," Sergei Spiridonov, Ulduz’s director of sales was cited as saying.
Meanwhile, Ulduz is facing competition from Iranian products made cheaper to Azerbaijanis who cross the border into Iran by the severe devaluation of the rial that has occurred since the US reimposed heavy sanctions against Tehran.
Iran imported almost exactly a third less bananas in the first six months of the Persian calendar year (started March 21) as the collapse in the value of the Iranian rial (IRR) made the exotic fruit far more expensive to the consumer. The period saw the import of 223,000 tonnes of bananas worth $217mn, marking a 33.32% y/y drop in weight and 19.30% fall in value, according to Iranian customs data released on October 14.
Many working and middle-class Iranians have reduced their spending on imported fruits and are instead making do with locally grown fruit including apples, citrus fruit and kiwis.
9.1.8 Property sector news
Finalised Tehran property transactions fell by 11.2% m/m in the fifth Persian calendar month (ended August 22), latest Central Bank of Iran (CBI) data shows. Property buyers in Iranian capital city of 14mn inhabitants are increasingly struggling to purchase property due to the severe decline of the Iranian rial (IRR). It has lost more than 100% of its value on the unofficial market over the past 12 months, with the fresh waves of heavy US sanctions announced in early May taking the biggest toll. The CBI data also suggests that finalised transactions now mainly involve older, smaller or less central properties as a result of the economic pressure felt by buyers.
On a year on year basis, home purchases declined 33.2%. It seems likely the property sales sector will fall into recession if such a downward trend continues into the next calendar month. Iran as a whole faces a recession according to a study released by Oxford Economics on August 28.
The top-performing locality in the capital for finalised property sales was District 5, in the west of the city. It accounted for 13.3% of overall sales. The most expensive part of Tehran, District 1 in the city’s north, remains a distant dream for many would-be property buyers. Just 5.6% of total sales took place there in the fifth calendar month.
The highest average price per square meter was determined to be in District 1, at IRR157.6mn, while the lowest was in District 18 in the capital’s southwest, at IRR31.1mn. Residential sales in Tehran grew by 7.3% y/y in the first five months of the calendar year.
The average price per square metre of a Tehran residential unit traded through a real estate agent in the fifth month was IRR64.8mn, 45.5% higher on an annual comparison.
9.1.9 Tourism sector news
Azerbaijan has reported a 43.4% rise in the first eight months of this year in the number of its citizens crossing the border to Iran, AzerNews reported on September 23. The collapse in the value of the Iranian rial under US sanctions pressure has made purchases in Iran more attractive for Azerbaijanis, especially for those bearing US dollars or other hard currencies. Another factor in the surge in border crossings may be Iran and Azerbaijan’s mutual relaxing of visa restrictions on travel between the two countries. As of 2017, Baku and Tehran agreed to a visa-on-arrival system, costing roughly
44 IRAN Country Report November 2018 www.intellinews.com