Between five and seven thousand metric tons of olive oil is smuggled into the country annually, Mehr news agency quoted Nader Jalallat, a member of Iranian Olive Council as saying on Sunday. “Since Iran’s olive oil consumption is about 200 grams per capita, with a population of 80 million, the country needs about 15,000 metric tons of olive oil per annum,” said the official, adding that 2,000-5,000 tons of Iran’s annual olive oil consumption is provided domestically while about 5,000 tons is imported. The rest is supplied through illegal imports. He referred to high tariffs on olive oil imports (28 percent) as the main reason behind the smuggling.
