Iran Business News in Brief - November 26

New IRICA Chief Appointed

Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance Farhad Dejpasand has appointed Mehdi Mirashrafi to replace Foroud Asgari as his deputy and the new head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration. Mirashrafi had previously served as the director general of the customs offices of Markazi Province, Shahid Rajaee in Bandar Abbas and the supervisor of Hormozgan Customs Administration, IRNA reported.

Bushehr Port Throughput Increases

More than 1.42 million tons of goods were loaded and unloaded in the southern port of Bushehr during the first half of the current Iranian year (March 21-Sept. 22) to register a 2% growth compared with the same period of last year. “The imports mainly included rice, lentil and auto parts while vegetables, dried fruit and minerals were the country’s main exports through this port,” Abdolsaeid Abbasi, an official with Bushehr Ports and Maritime Organization, was quoted as saying by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development’s news service. 

Strong Iranian Presence in Kurdish Expo

Half of the 180 foreign companies participating in the 13th Sulaymaniyah International Exhibition in the Iraqi Kurdistan region are from Iran.
The event, which opened on Friday and will run until Wednesday, is also hosting exhibitors from China, Turkey, the UAE, India, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon and Pakistan, apart from local Iraqi firms and their Iranian counterparts, IRNA reported.
Chairman of Sulaymaniyah Chamber of Commerce Sirvan Mohamed said in the inauguration ceremony that the Iranians have had strong presence in this exhibition since 2006 and the number of participating Iranian businesses is increasing every year.

Dietary Supplement Imports Decline 

About 1.7 tons of dietary supplements worth $205 million were imported into Iran during the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22) to register a 21.81% and 5.54% decline in weight and value respectively, latest data released by the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration show.
According to Mehr News Agency, the decrease is due to the government’s restrictions on the imports of dietary supplements, among other products, in recent months with the aim of supporting local production.