Rice Imports Decline by 48% in Five Months

Rice imports over the first five months of the current Iranian year (March 20-Aug. 21) have declined by around 48%, according to Secretary of Iran’s Rice Importers Union Masih Keshavarz.
The official blames the decline in the import of this staple food on the policies of the Central Bank of Iran, adding that CBI insists on allocating forex at the secondary foreign exchange market rates to rice imports but fails to deliver, the news portal of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture
Known by its Persian acronym, Nima, the secondary market is a trade platform where exporters sell their forex earnings (at rates lower than market prices) and importer buy it for import needs. 
Since March 20, the government has discontinued the allocation of foreign currency at the subsidized rate of 42,000 rials per dollar for importing rice.