Gov’t Ends Subsidized Forex Allocation for Red Meat Imports

The government will no longer grant subsidized foreign currency for the import of red meat, Deputy Agriculture Minister Morteza Rezaei told Fars News Agency. 
Importers of red meat (listed under Group II) are allowed to meet their foreign currency needs from the export earnings of non-oil products (petrochemicals, steel and minerals) traded through the so-called secondary FX market, known by its Persian acronym Nima. 
The measure is aimed at boosting domestic meat production and ending rent-seeking practices emerging from the difference in the prices of imported and domestically-produced meat.   
Following the collapse of the Iranian domestic currency, rial, the government introduced controversial import policies, such as banning the import of non-essential goods with domestic counterparts (Group IV products) and allocating subsidized foreign currency at the rate of 42,000 rials per dollar to 25 categories of products (Group I) to cushion consumers from the pressures of the rising cost of living.