The Agriculture Ministry has yet to approve the removal of ban on rice imports, despite the green light given by the Market Regulation Headquarters.
“Rice Importers Association put forth the proposal on reducing restriction on rice imports in the 141st meeting of the Market Regulation Headquarters attended by Industries Minister Alireza Razm-Hosseini and other officials, given the fact that only 150,000 tons of rice have been imported so far,” said Masih Keshavarz, the secretary of the association.
Every year, the government places a seasonal ban on rice imports in an attempt to support domestic production.
“Private sector suppliers of rice also have low inventory levels. Traders are also reluctant to import when the ban is in force. Therefore, the country is likely to face a rice shortage. On the other hand, producers claim that rice will be supplied to the market in the sixth month of the Iranian year [August 23-Sept. 22],” he was quoted as saying by ISNA.
“We have time and again asked for a meeting with Agriculture Ministry officials in this regard, but it seems that the ban on rice imports would remain in force and start on July 22.”
Rice imports stood at 182,000 tons worth $163 million in the first two months of the current Iranian year, registering a 31% and 34% year-on-year growth in weight and value respectively, according to the Islamic Republic of Customs Administration.
In the same period of last year, rice imports stood at 139,000 tons worth $122 million.
“About 12,000 tons of rice still remain in customs terminals and will enter the market after clearance,” Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
A total of 2.6 million tons of rice were produced on 800,000 hectares of paddy fields across the country last fiscal year (ended March 20, 2021), showing a 10.34% decline compared with the previous year’s output, according to the Agriculture Ministry’s director general of Grains and Essential Goods Department.
“In the fiscal 2019-20, due to high precipitation levels and favorable weather, more than 835,000 hectares went under rice cultivation, yielding close to 2.9 million tons of the grain,” Faramak Aziz-Karimi was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
He added that 4 million tons of rice bran were produced last year.
According to the official, annual domestic demand for rice currently stands at 3 million tons and last year, 85% of this demand were met by local farmers.
The difference between domestic production and demand is imported from Pakistan, Thailand, India, the UAE, Turkey and Iraq.
The official noted that over 73% of rice cultivation took place in the three northern provinces of Gilan (32%), Mazandaran (26%) and Golestan (15%) and in the southern province of Khuzestan (18%), adding that the staple grain was also cultivated in 15 other provinces.
Based on the latest figures released by the Agronomical Affairs Department of the Agriculture Ministry, land under rice cultivation in Gilan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan and Golestan provinces stand at around 220,000 hectares, 214,000 hectares, 180,000 hectares and 100,000 hectares respectively.
There are 90,000 hectares of paddy fields in the aforementioned 15 provinces.
Aziz-Karimi has said rice production costs have increased by 40% last year which, together with import problems, contributed to the rise in domestic prices of the grain.
“Saplings on around 326 hectares of the total land under cultivation were mechanically planted and 690,000 were harvested mechanically, showing a 12% and 10% rise compared with last year,” he said.
