Commodities on Import Ban List Increase to 2,400

The government has added 800 items to the list of banned imports since last fiscal year (started March 21, 2019), which bring the total number of banned imported commodities to 2,400, the head of Trade Promotion Organization, Hamid Zadboum, said.
Two years ago, the government banned imports of 1,339 items categorized as “Group Four”—products that are deemed “non-essential” and have domestic counterparts—in a move to economize on foreign currency amid US sanctions. 
The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade was then tasked with identifying more imports that were either unnecessary, or those which could be produced by local enterprises. 
The number of banned imported goods reached 1,600 items last year.