The administration has banned the import of rice and sugar in a bid to support Iranian producers and control supply and demand, an official in Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) told ISNA. Iranian suppliers cannot meet the domestic demand and import is an integral part these commodities. Due to oversupply through the import coupled with domestic production, there is no need to keep importing rice and sugar, Mohammad Reza Safa, ICCIMA deputy told ISNA. Safa stated that the volume of the import will be normally calculated at the end of each year, adding that sugar is being imported mostly by the Governmental Trading Corporation of Iran (GTC), which enjoys the governmental exchange rates. Iran buys sugar from South American and Asian countries.
